Beginning again
by flynner91
Summary: Being forced by her crazy father to yet again move & start again, Clary finds herself dealing with friend problems & the incredibly hot but mysterious Jace...what happens when her dad finds her again..sorry sucky summary but the story's good honest :
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so this is my first EVER fanfic and i'm not sure if people will like it or not...so please be honest i don't mind :) but please don't be nasty if you do review ;) **

**Basically the plot is that Clary moves to a new place from the city when her dad turns up demanding she see him even though she doesn't want to. Her Mom thinks the best thing to do is to move AGAIN hoping he won't find them again...So the first few chapters deal with Clary settling into her new school and meeting Jace, Isabelle etc...and dealing with a problematic so called best friend from her old school. It will get way more interesting as it goes on :) I have some really good ideas for what i want to do with this story :) **

_**Disclaimer: Much as i would LOVE to be able to say otherwise I do not own any of the Mortal Instrument characters :( they are owned by the wonderful Ms Cassandra Clare :) **_

**However Laurie, Ellie and a few other random characters are mine :D enjoy :)**_  
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_Chapter 1:_

For the fifth time I attempted to unbuckle my seatbelt and failed…whether it was due to my shaking fingers or the fact that I was terrified to leave the familiarity that was my car.

As my one pride and joy I kept it spotless and there wasn't a mark on it inside or out. On the dashboard was a small forever friends photo frame with a picture of my best friend Ellie and me taken on my last day in my old school.

Looking at the photo and Ellie's arm wrapped round my shoulder made me remember that night a month ago when I came home to my frantic Mom and a worried Luke trying to calm her down…

"_Mom, wait until I tell you what happ…M-Mom? What's wrong?" As soon as I walked into the sitting room I realised something terrible was wrong…there was three suitcases with their contents splayed out on the floor and on the two sofas. _

_In the middle of all the mess was my Mom who was in the process of firing a bundle of what looked like my clothes into a suitcase and her partner of six years and friend for as long as I can remember, Luke looking worriedly at her clearly at a lose as what to say to her. _

"_Clary! There you are! Where have you been? Why didn't you answer your phone? I've been trying to call you all evening! You need to…we need to…" Her questioning finished and she descended into silent sobs and turned to Luke with pleading eyes._

"_Clary what your mother is trying to say is that you need to go up to your room and decide what you want to bring with you and leave unnecessary stuff behind" Luke looked at me with a sad smile. It was happening again! I looked at him stunned not sure whether I was dreaming or not._

"_You…you can't be serious! Please tell me that…that man who thinks he has some right to be called my father simply because we share the same blood has not come round trying to force you guys to make me see him?" _

_My 'father'(although he'd done nothing to deserve this title in my 16 years of being alive) had an annoying tendency to show up wherever we happened to be living after a few months demanding that I see him and spend time with me and threatening my Mom if she refused to let him see me. He just didn't seem to get the message that I wanted nothing to do with him._

_Luke simply gave me a grim smile and nodded, while my Mom continued to sob silently while throwing random things into the open suitcase. _

"_N-no! I'm sorry but no he's not doing this again! Mom what do you want us to do? Run again? It didn't work the last… how many times is it now we moved house and tried to start again? I can't keep doing this I have friends here! I'm happy!"_

_ By the time I'd finished I was shouting at her, letting out all my pent up anger at the excuse of a man I had to call my father._

"_Clary I'm sorry but we need to leave. We've been here four years, Luke's jobs are drying up and Laurie will be starting school in a month and we were already thinking of finding her a school that wasn't in the city. Your…'father' turning up has just given us the push we needed to actually do it." (I could see she had as much trouble using this term as I did to describe him when he was really nothing more then a sperm donor for all the influence he had on my life)._

_I was stunned. It was seriously unfair of my Mom to use my little sister Laurie as an excuse to move again._

"_Mom Don't go using Laurie as an excuse for letting HIM have the satisfaction of scaring you into leaving again! I'm 16 and old enough to decide for myself if I want anything to do with him. He can't hurt you anymore."_

"_Clary! That's enough!" Luke cut across me with a serious look on his face that made it clear they had made up their mind and nothing I said or done was going to change it. _

"_We're leaving the city tomorrow as soon as we're ready so go and sort out what you want to bring with you and what you don't think you'll need…NOW!"_

_I knew it was useless to continue arguing with them so I stormed out of the room, slamming the glass panelled door behind me. Under normal circumstances either one of them would have shouted at me for doing that but tonight was no normal night. Yet again I was being forced to leave my friends and everything I knew behind all thanks to my so called father._

_ How was I going to say goodbye to everyone? _

_More importantly how was I going to tell Ellie, my closest friend of 4 years that I was leaving and we wouldn't be together everyday anymore? That thought made me more miserable then every other angry and confused thought going through my head…_

A knock on my window brought me out of my daydream.

I looked up to see a pretty girl looking intriguingly in my window. On second glance, pretty didn't seem like the right word to describe the girl who was now getting impatient at my gawping at her through my window. With a deep breath I rolled down my window and painted on what I hoped was a natural smile "Hi…can I help you?"

The black haired girl replied simply "Hi I'm Isabelle but everyone calls me Izz, Izzy and a few other undesireable names. I saw you sitting in your car in a daze and knew you must be the new girl we were told about yesterday."

I sat staring at the girl bemused. What had possessed this seriously gorgeous girl to randomly come up to me and start talking to me I didn't know, but I knew straight away I was going to like her.

"Hi Isabelle I'm Clary but everyone calls me…yeah they call me Clary." At this the girl-Isabelle-laughed and demanded I get out of the car so she could take me under her wing and show me round.

"Come on Clary, we've still got ten minutes left before we need to be in home room, let me show you around and introduce you to all my friends."

Isabelle gave off this air that made me feel comfortable around her straight away. That was until she walked right up to what was obviously the popular gang and slapped one of boys who had the same colour hair as her across the shoulder to gain his attention.

"Alec, Magnus, everyone this is Clary the new girl…who people simply call Clary." As she tacked on the end she turned and winked at me which made me smile. I was definitely going to like her.

Everyone turned to look at me and I mumbled a hello to them all. They all seemed nice enough and said hi and asked me the usual friendly questions.

That was all of them except without a doubt the hottest guy in the group. He was a lot taller then my mere 5 foot and a few inches and had golden hair that on anyone else people would have thought was dyed but it was clear it was his natural colour as it matched his eyes and skin tone.

He totally ignored me and continued flirting with a girl who was in a micro mini skirt and figure hugging top which left very little to the imagination.

I frowned to myself and wondered was he a totally ignorant jerk or was he just shy. However the latter quickly left my mind when he proceeded to begin to look like he was trying to eat the girl up.

_Clearly not shy so…_I began to wonder why he didn't even say Hi or glance at me…

I knew without a doubt that if Ellie had been here she would have instantly tried to figure out what his problem was and more then likely call him up on his jerkish behaviour, like she had with so many other people before.

Before I could begin to dwell too much on the fact I wouldn't have Ellie to fall back on and back me up and just be there for me, the bell rang sharply to signal first period. At the sound of this I suddenly felt more then a little sick at the thoughts of having to stand in front of everyone in Home Room and introduce myself and this made all thoughts of the lose of my best friend and the blonde ass leave my mind.

Isabelle grabbed my arm and proceeded to practically drag me by the arm to Home Room.

At the door to the classroom Isabelle finally listened to my protests to let go of my arm. I knew this girl, what, 15 minutes and already she was dragging me round the place.

"Jeez Isabelle do you have to be so pushy? There was me thinking you were a nice girl who wanted to help the new girl…now I'm not so sure?"

Isabelle simply smiled at me flicked her hair and said "Clary I am very nice and I can't help but be intrigued by the challenge that is a girl who clearly has never been taught how to use make-up and never heard of a colour chart and how to dress properly." With that she winked at me and practically skipped into the classroom, leaving me staring open-mouth after her wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into by accepting this girls offer to 'take me under her wing.'

While standing there stunned, the hot blonde walked by me and said sarcastically "You gonna stand there gawping or are you gonna come in and meet the oh so lovely Mrs Gray?"

"I…yeah I was just psyching myself up to deal with the staring that comes with my five foot and a few inches height and crazy red hair, ya know people seem to find it very interesting for some unbeknown reason." I replied just as sarcastically.

I was rewarded with the most gorgeous smile ever and a wink. _Damn this guy is not only hot but has a serious ego problem._

Before entering the classroom, the blonde turned, cracked another knee weakening smile and said "By the way the name's Jace." As much as I hated to admit it I simply stared as he turned on his heel and swanned into the classroom like he owned the place. "_Maybe this place won't be quite so bad after all" _I thought to myself.

But then I remembered how as nice as these people appeared to be I'd left behind my best friend and everything I knew. Shaking my head I squared my shoulders and walked into the classroom ready to begin what was hopefully my last "fresh start." ….

**Ok so thats the first chapter :) Doesn't really give too much away i know but please let me know what you think :) is it worth my while continuing with it or should i give up on it now :L your thoughts and ideas are really appreciated :D xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok guys so here's chapter 2 :) I wrote the first three chapters together when i started this story to see if it was worth my while writing more...And after the good reception chapter 1 received i couldn't keep this to myself so decided to upload it right away :D Was a really nice surprise to wake up this morning and see that people had added my story to their alerts :D And i got two reviews :) so thank you guys really :) Hopefully after this chapter i might get some more reviews and tell me what you think :D i'd love to know :)**

**_Disclaimer: Again much as I would love to be able to say otherwise, I do not own the Mortal Instruments or any of the characters...They have always and will always be the product of the amazing Cassandra Clare :)_**_  
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_Chapter 2:_

Not a moment too soon the bell was ringing for the end of the day. I had never been so glad to pack my stuff into my bag and head towards the lot where the sanctuary of my little car waited for me.

Before I could reach it thought I heard someone yelling my name and turned to see Isabelle running (how she done it in 6inch heels I do not know) towards me. I stopped walking and painted on yet another fake smile.

"Clary where are you rushing off too? You wanna come hang out with the rest of us at Starbucks for an hour? I'll even buy you whatever your favourite coffee is…" She looked at me with puppy dog eyes that on a normal day I wouldn't have been able refuse, but not today.

"I'm sorry Isabelle but I promised my Mom I'd get home right away after school to mind my little sister Laurie, and she'll totally freak if I don't come home."

This wasn't a total lie. I knew my Mom would worry if I was late home on my first day. She'd more then likely think somehow my father had gotten wind of where we were now and that something had happened to me…

"Oh ok…well then I'll meet you at 8.00 in the morning and we can grab a coffee before school then."

After agreeing to meet her in the morning I turned back to face my car and gladly sunk into the drivers seat and put my head in my hands laughing to myself. _Isabelle really is something else. Ellie would love her._ Suddenly feeling like I was being watched I glanced up to see the blonde…wait Jace is his name…walk by and laugh to himself at the sight of me laughing to myself in my car.

_Great the hot jerk probably thinks I have mental issues or something!_ I thought to myself.

Shaking that thought off along with the others of longing for Ellie to be sitting in my passenger seat, I reversed carefully out of the spot and began the 20 minute drive to the outskirts of town, to the pretty little house I now was being forced to call home.

Driving through town I realised it really wasn't all that bad…ok other then the typical signs of it being a small town trying to be all cosmopolitan with its hugely out of place glass monstrosity of a shopping centre, it really was quite a cute town.

_Hopefully we'll last a bit longer here then we did in all the other places_ I thought to myself.

Now that Laurie was starting school, I knew my Mom and Luke couldn't just up sticks and leave again like they had done all the other times. Laurie more then anyone else needed the stability that came with living in the same place for more then 2 or 3 years.

Laurie was my 4 year old and incredibly cute baby sister. Ok so she's not really a baby anymore but still! Thinking of seeing her smiling dimpled face surrounded by firey red hair just like mine made me smile as I pulled into the drive of my new home.

I had only just closed the door when Laurie came thundering down the hallway and proceeded to twine her chubby little arms around my legs. Dropping my bag in the corner I chuckled to myself and picked her up to give her a cuddle.

"Hey baby how was your day? Did you have fun with Momma getting all your things ready for big girl school?"

"Awh Clary it was soo much fun, Momma tooked me to the shops and I gotted my new skirt and cardy for school…"

Before she could get any further into giving me a run down of her day my Mom appeared in the doorway of the kitchen in her overalls and smiled at me and Laurie before saying "Laurie baby why don't you go to your room and see what surprise Daddy left for you while we were out and you can tell Clary all about your day after dinner."

As soon as she heard the word "surprise" Laurie practically jumped out of my arms and proceeded to run up the stairs to her room to see what Luke had bought her now.

I followed my Mom into the kitchen and attempted to find a place to sit that wasn't covered in paint or paint splattered sheets. We'd been here three weeks and already my Mom had repainted most of the house herself and put her own touch on the place.

"So baby how was your first day at your new school? Did you find your way round the place? Were the kids nice to you?"

I knew she felt bad for dragging me away from my old school and really did care about whether I settled in ok or not so I opted for the sugar coated version of the days events…

"Well within two minutes of pulling into the parking lot, a girl called Isabelle knocked on my window and informed me she was going to be my new friend. She's a really lovely girl and she introduced me to all her friends who were…all really nice and welcoming." No need to tell her about the blonde ass, I mean Jace, who I happened to share not only English but also History and Art with. In all three classes he totally ignored me while everyone else was really welcoming and wanted to know all about me.

"_So Clary…tell me where are you from originally, who did you inherit them fabulous red locks from and how on earth you ended up here?" _

_The boy who asked me these questions turned out to be Isabelle's brother Alec's boyfriend Magnus. I instantly knew I was going to like him. He was dressed in a sparkly purple top with black skinny jeans. His hair was spiked up with glittery hair gel. Alec on the other hand was much more mundanely dressed in a simple pair of dark denim jeans and a grey sweater. Both of which were clearly designer. _

_I proceeded to tell Magnus and the students who were seated within listening distance that I was originally from the city but had moved round a lot due to Luke's job and my Mom's "restlessness." _

_No need to tell them my psycho father had anything to do with it. As soon as the teacher came in Magnus and the rest reluctantly turned back around and prepared themselves for a tedious hour long class on how Shakespeare treated women in his plays. _

_Jace happened to be sitting in the seat across from me and unfortunately caught me looking at him while Mr Connell droned on and on. He smirked at me and I quickly lowered my gaze to my notepad and my attempt to take notes on a topic I had already covered. _

_After class as I was packing up my things, Jace walked by my seat and said "You know if you wanna stare at my startlingly good looks well you know all you need to do is ask. I'd be happy to let you." And without another word he walked out of the classroom leaving me lost for words…_

"Clary..Clary! God girl I swear I'd love to know what goes on in that head of yours…did you not hear me ask you whether or not you found out if we need to meet with the principal or anything?"

"Oh sorry Mom…erm no you don't. He said once was enough to see him…actually Mom I think I'm going to go upstairs and see if Ellie's online. I haven't heard from her at all since Saturday night." This was strange for us…she hadn't even text me this morning to wish me luck…guess she must have forgot I started school a week earlier then she did.

After clearing my bed of the pile of clothes I had left on it this morning while trying to decide what to wear I settled down onto the middle of it with my laptop and signed into Facebook straight away. The first thing I done was to look to see if Ellie was online. Luck was with me and right away she popped up :

_Ellie says: _

**Hiya ****:) where have u been all day**?

ok so clearly she forgot I was starting school today. I tried to tell myself it wasn't a big deal.

_Clary says:_

**Hey um well I started in my new school 2day…I told u on sat evening I was starting 2day..**

_Ellie says:_

**OMG I totally forgot! How did it go? Details please…any cute guys?**

I laughed to myself after reading that. How did I know that was going to be the first thing she came out with? I debated whether or not to just go ahead and tell her about how aggravating Jace was, but decided against it.

_Clary says:_

**wasn't as bad as I thought it would be…met a really nice girl called Isabelle. She seems totally crazy but in a good way J was really welcoming & introduced me 2 all her friends. :)**

_Ellie says:_

**Oh that's…cool…well I ended up going to the mall with Shanice and Abbey…was like soo much fun. Everyone from school was there…I'll get some photos up so u can see how much fun it was. ;) **

Wait, did I just see that right? Ellie was hanging round with two of the girls that up until very recently she had said she hated? And she just totally blew off me telling her about Isabelle…

_Ellie says:_

**Sorry Clary but I g2g…Shanice & Abbey just arrived & we're heading out 2 some new place that opened…talk soon xx**

I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling that was beginning to rise in the bottom of my stomach after reading the last part of the conversation. _Maybe she's just having a hard time without me and didn't want to blow Shanice and Abbey off if they offered to let her hang with them. Yeah that's got to be it._

I convinced myself that that was it and that the only reason Ellie was hanging round with the two biggest bitches in the school was because she was afraid she'd have no one else to hang round with once school started again.

After talking myself out of worrying about Ellie I closed out of Facebook after first accepting Isabelle, Alec, Magnus and most of their gang's friend requests and reluctantly sat myself at my desk and began the two hours worth of homework I had to do.

After an hour and a half slogging away my Mom and Luke knocked on my door and came in. I instantly knew what they were going to ask as soon as I saw my Mom dressed in her favourite dress and Luke in his good trousers and freshly ironed shirt.

"Baby I know it's short notice but me and Luke were wondering if you'd watch Laurie for the evening? We've been invited to a dinner party by one of the neighbours. We won't be late?"

With a quiet sigh I replied simply "Sure Mom no problem you guys go have fun and get to know the neighbours." With a parting smile both of them left.

Within seconds of hearing the door close, Laurie rambled into my bedroom and climbed up into my lap for a cuddle, even though she was getting nearly too big now.

"So baby how about we tuck you up in your bed and I read you a story?"

"Aw Clary I wanna sleeps in your bed pleeaassee? I'm a scared when Momma and Daddy aren't here in case the bad man comes back."

"Hmm I suppose you can…wait Laurie baby what bad man are you scared of sweetie?"

"The one who camed to our old house before we had to move here…"

I stared at my baby sister in shock. I didn't even know she had ever seen my father never mind have any reason to be scared of him! I scooped Laurie up in my arms and carried her over to my bed and hopped in beside her.

After reading her a story I was about ready to fall asleep myself when I got a text from Isabelle

_Don't forget we're meeting at 8.00 for coffee&breakfast..meet u at taki's J xx_

Just as well she text me to remind me. Now all I needed to do was figure out where Taki's was. I decided to check Facebook one last time before attempting to have an early night.

Ellie had put up the photos as promised and had tagged me in some of them so I could see them. I stared at them in shock! Who was the person smiling back at me in the photos? It looked nothing like Ellie…this girl was in a mini skirt and revealing top and had a face full of makeup.

I yet again tried to convince myself that maybe Shanice and Abbey had simply given her a makeover or something. Again I got the uneasy feeling in my stomach when I thought of our earlier conversation and the photos.

Before I could get a chance to spiral into a full on depressed mood (which wasn't good given not only the fact of how late it was on a school night, but also the fact that my baby sister was snoring delicately beside me) a friend request popped up from non other then the golden jerk himself Jace. _What the hell? Why is he adding me on this when he wouldn't speak to me in school? Maybe he is just shy _I thought to myself.

I debated whether to accept him right away or not and decided to make him wait until the morning before accepting him. _Will do his ego the world of good to not have a girl accept his request on this right away anyways. _

With a grin I turned off my laptop and snuggled closer to Laurie who was radiating warmth and who instantly made me feel better about everything just by being in the bed beside me.

Before I knew it I was falling asleep to the incredibly cute sound of Lauire snoring and began to dream of how my life would be without my crazy father driving us from our home and all our friends…

**So what do you guys think? Please review and let me know :) Chapter 3 shall be up as soon as I get that one finished and Chapter 4 written :) Again not too much happened but it's slowly building :) **

**PS: almost forgot...maybe you guys could tell me, are the chapters long enough/too short/too long? I'm not sure how long they should be as like I said I'm new to the whole Fanfic thing :)  
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**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow I'm delighted with the response i've gotten so far with this story :D seriously thank you :D Since I uploaded it first like 24 hours ago I've gotten loads of hits and visitors so thank you :D And also thank you to those of you who added my story to your alerts :D was really nice to see so many emails regarding feedback on my story :D Because I got such a good response I spent most of the day putting the finishing touches to this chapter :D I'm trying to write two at a time before updating so that you don't have to wait too long for the next chapter :D Anyways here's chapter 3 which is a bit longer then the other 2 so let me know what you think :)**

_**Disclaimer: Again as before, I don't own any of the Mortal Instruments Characters :( they belong to Cassandra Clare :)  
>However, I do own Laurie and some of the other random characters i've thrown in :)<strong>  
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_Chapter 3:_

Before I knew it was being woken up by Laurie bouncing up and down on my bed telling me to wake up. I groaned and tried turning over, but this just made her more impatient.

"Clary wake up! Your friend is on the phone and she telled me you're late." This instantly woke me up. _Crap! I must have forgotten to set my alarm last night! _Looking over at my bedside clock I saw that it was 8.05. _God this girl really does expect people to be exactly on time. _

"Ok ok baby give me the phone. And quit jumping on my bed or you'll fall off!" Taking the phone from Laurie I took a deep breath before putting it to my ear and beginning my apologies.

"Isabelle I'm soo sorry I forgot to set my alarm and…well yeah I'm going to be late. Also I have no idea where this place is we're meant to be meeting…" I trailed off waiting for her to reply.

"Ah Clary don't worry about it. Getting to talk to whoever that adorable sounding little girl is makes up for it."

She then proceeded to tell me how to get to Taki's and told me not to bother about doing my hair and makeup but to "get my butt" down there now. With a sigh I clicked off and hopped out of bed. I threw on the first thing I could find, which turned out to be my favourite pair of black skinny jeans and oversized jumper.

Running down the stairs I said a quick goodbye to my Mom and Luke who were eating breakfast and gave Laurie a quick kiss and ran out the door to my car. _This better not be a sign of how bad today's going to go _I thought to myself while following the directions Isabelle had given me.

Taki's turned out to only be a five minute drive from my house which surprised me.

As I walked towards the place I almost turned around and walked back to my car. Sitting in a booth by the window was Isabelle with not only Alec and Magnus, but Jace was there sitting with his back to me.

Before I could debate the pro's and con's of going back to my car and coming up with an excuse for missing breakfast, Isabelle saw me through the window and waved frantically at me. _Great, she's seen me. No fear of getting the chance to run away so…_  
>Putting a smile on my face I squared my shoulders and walked into the café and sat down in the only available seat which was facing Jace.<p>

"Morning sleepyhead. You found Taki's ok I see." I smiled at Isabelle and apologised again for being late.

"Ahh don't worry about it. But who on earth was the cutie I was talking to on the phone. Even by the sounds of her voice I can tell she's a little doll."

I smiled to myself and explained to her and everyone else, while avoiding Jace's eyes that she was my little sister, and although she sounded cute she could be a little terror sometimes.

Just then a girl not much older then us came and took our orders. Everyone else knew exactly what they wanted without even looking at the menu. I picked the first thing I saw which happened to be pancakes and a strong black coffee.

As I described my little sister and answered Isabelle's million and one questions about her, I could feel Jace's eyes on me the whole time and I tried with all my might not to look across the table and meet his gaze. Eventually, when the girl came back with our orders, Isabelle remembered that I didn't know Jace.

"God Clary I totally forgot, this here is my adoptive brother Jace. Jace this is Clary…"

Jace smirked and replied simply "I know who she is Izz, she's the first person to not have accepted my friend request…ever."

I was momentarily stunned at this. But gathered myself quickly and replied "Friend request? Oh on Facebook…sorry but I wasn't really on it last night. I have more important things to be doing then spending my time on it to see who does and doesn't accept my requests right away."

This boy was going to learn pretty quickly that I could be just as sarcastic as him and that unlike most girls I wouldn't be jumping for joy that he possibly had or hadn't taken an interest in me…at least not publically anyways, in the safety of my own room when alone…maybe.

Isabelle, Alec and Magnus simply laughed at our exchange and we paid for our breakfast and left. I followed Isabelle to school as I still wasn't 100% sure how to get there from Taki's. _That will be all I need to get lost on my way to school and give Jace another reason to make another sarcastic remark. _

Once at school I pulled up in the space beside Isabelle's van, which all four of them bundled out of. We still had a few minutes before the bell so we strolled over to the main building to go to our first class, not in any hurry.

Isabelle was in the middle of attempting to beg me to let her stage what she called "a necessary intervention" relating to my dress sense and general appearance when I suddenly tripped and landed on my backside on the tiled floor. Looking up dazed I saw the same girl who yesterday had been drapped all over Jace, smirk at me and say "You need to be more careful when you walk sweetie. I don't know how things were done in your old school, but here you need to be careful, there's all sorts of…_things_ which could trip you up."

With that she winked at me and strutted over to Jace who was looking at me with a frown on his face like he had wanted to help me up but thought better of it.

Isabelle bent down and helped me up. "Come on Clary lets go to the bathroom and sort you out before class, we still have a few minutes." I simply nodded and followed her to the girls bathrooms wondering what on earth I had done to the girl that she'd trip me up and then warn me to be careful.

"That Nikki is a total bitch! Who does she think she is picking on you like that! And for everyone to see as well!" Isabelle exploded as soon as the bathroom door was closed and she had checked we were alone.

"Isabelle don't worry about it. There was two girls exactly like that back home and my best friend Ellie and I just totally ignored them and they eventually got bored of us."

No need to tell her that the same two girls now appeared to be becoming best friends with Ellie. At that thought I was reminded of the uneasy feeling I got whenever I thought of Ellie and me. _How is our friendship going to survive when already it looks like she's changed and it's awkward between us?_

But before I could despair too much, the bell rang and Isabelle dragged me from the bathroom and down the hallway to our first period which thankfully was Math and meant I wouldn't be in the same class as Jace or the girl who seemed to hate me even though she didn't know me and had never had a conversation with me.

The morning passed by in a blur that thankfully had no more incidents like the one this morning. From our chats in between classes I learned that Isabelle lived in a country house not too far from mine, with her brother Alec, Jace and younger brother Max. Her parents travelled a lot so weren't home that often, so they had a live in tutor who they called Hodge.

When I asked her how Jace came to end up living with them she shrugged and said simply that his parents had died when he was younger and he had lived with them most his life. I sensed there was more to the story then that but that Isabelle wasn't comfortable telling it to me.

By lunch time I knew most of Isabelle's life story and had filled her in on some bits about me.

I still hadn't told her exactly why we had moved around so much. Only one person knew the real reason why and that was Ellie. It had taken me the best part of a year to trust her enough to be able to tell her all about it, but there was something about Isabelle that made me know I could trust her right away.

Thinking of Ellie I decided to give her a call and see how she was. Excusing myself from the group I moved to the end of the table and dialled her number. While waiting for her to pick up I could feel Jace's gaze on me. _What's his problem and why does he keep staring at me? _But before I could delve too much into possible reasons for his staring Ellie picked up the phone.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hi Ells it's Clary! Just thought I'd give you a ring and see how you were while I was on my lunch."_

"…_Oh hi Clary, sorry I thought u were Abbs or Shanice calling me…I'm waiting on them to come pick me up so we can go to the mall and go shopping."_

Since when did she call Abbey "abbs"? and since when did she go shopping with them! I frowned to myself and decided to bite the bullet and ask outright why she was hanging round with them now.

"_I'm sorry but did you say Abbey and Shanice? What happened to hating them and claiming we'd never be friends with them?" _I was greeted with silence on the other end of the phone.

"_Look Clary I don't know what the hell your problem is! But in case you forgot you just upped and left! What did you think I was going to do? You clearly haven't wasted any time in making friends…telling me all about some Isabelle girl that was 'oh so nice'…Sorry but no way…"_

For a moment I was stunned but as soon as she mentioned my making friends with Isabelle, it instantly got my back up and I exploded…

_"Hold up a second Ellie that's not what I meant! I just wondered why all of a sudden you were hanging round with girls who not too long ago you said you hated. And as for Isabelle…what did you think I wasn't going to make friends and be stuck on my own for however long I last at this place?"_

By the end of this I was shouting down the phone at Ellie and had attracted the attention of everyone at the table, including Jace who had been engrossed in discussion with Alec about something.

"…_well tell you what you can do Clary, you can go be friends with whoever the dork is you've found…meanwhile I'm heading out now with Abbs and Shanice…I'll talk to you later." _With that she hung up on me.

Feeling the familiar pricky sensation that was tears building up at the back of my eyes I stood up from where I was sitting and fled the canteen. I ran to the nearest girls bathroom and locked myself in a cubicle. 

_What the hell just happened? Ellie was supposed to be my best friend and promised she'd be there for me. _Before I could begin a full on crying session, Isabelle came into the bathroom and banged on the door.

"Clary…Clary! Come on, come out and tell me why you ran off like that!" taking a deep breath and attempting to dry the tears which had managed to escape I came out of the cubicle and found an extremely worried Isabelle facing me.

"I'm…I'm sorry Isabelle, I had a bit of an argument with Ellie on the phone…"

At that I began to cry again. Isabelle bundled me into her arms and stood there hugging me, while I tried to get a grip on myself. Once I had calmed down enough she took a step back and said simply "Ok you are coming to stay at mine tonight…no arguments! And you can tell me everything and I mean everything." I simply nodded and gave her a watery smile and again wondered how after little over a day I already trusted her a lot more then I did other people.

Isabelle gave me a glowing smile of her own and dragged me to the sink where she began to empty the contents of her bag onto the counter in search of something.

"Ok close your eyes and face me. We can't have you going round looking like you've been crying your eyes out for the rest of the day and this gives me the perfect excuse to FINALLY get some make up on that perfect skin of yours."

I didn't even have the energy to argue and let Isabelle work her magic while I tried to decide whether or not I'd tell her the whole story from Ellie acting all weird to my crazy father.

After what felt like forever(even though it was only a few minutes), Isabelle let me open my eyes and look in the mirror to admire her work. My face looked flawless. You couldn't see any of my freckles which were scattered across my nose and no one would have any idea that a few minutes previous I had been crying.

"Wow Isabelle I look…I look great." At this Isabelle laughed and shook her head at me.

"Of course you do. Some girls are good at drawing or writing, but my talents lie with a make up brush and various potions designed to give you flawless skin." I laughed at this and headed back to the canteen to enjoy what was left of my lunch hour.

Thankfully no one mentioned what had happened on the phone before I had fled the table.

Again I noticed Jace watching me while appearing to be in conversation with Alec. _Maybe I should go and ask him what his problem is,_ I thought to myself.

In the middle of weighing up the pro's and con's of doing just this, the girl, Nikki, from this morning stalked up to Jace and proceeded to slap him across the side of the face. I flinched as her hand connected with his cheek and for a moment had the irrational urge to go up to her and hit her back. But before anyone could really react, she turned on her heel and left the canteen just as quick as she had entered without a word.

Alec looked back and forth between the retreating figure of Nikki and a stunned Jace and said simply "So another one bites the dust eh?"

Upon hearing this Jace seemed to unfreeze and proceeded to elbow Alec in the ribs, which earned him a punch on the arm from Magnus who was sitting on the other side of Jace.

Before Jace could give a sarcastic response, which I'm sure he was about to, the bell went signalling the end of lunch.

It was then I remembered I had History next with Jace, who just so happened to sit next to me. _Maybe today he'll actually speak to me…or at least not catch me if my eyes happen to wander to his amazing hair or golden eyes…_I shook my head and wondered what had happened to me? I never used to even give guys like Jace a second thought, never mind hope he would talk to me or didn't catch me looking at him.

With a deep breath I entered the classroom and took my seat down the back beside the current vacant one which Jace would be filling, as soon as he had finished talking to some guy who had called him over to the other side of the class.

While in the middle of rooting in my bag for my pencil case and notepad I heard Jace sit down beside me.

I glanced up without thinking and met his gaze. I noticed that the cheek which Nikki had slapped was slightly red, but Jace didn't seem too bothered by it and made no attempt to hide it. In fact he appeared to be quite proud of it. Before either of us could say anything Mr O'Neill called the class to order and began to outline what we would be studying this term. I reluctantly turned around to face him and began to take notes.

Before I had a chance to take down more then one line of notes a piece of paper was slid onto my table by a slender hand. Frowning to myself I opened it and read its contents…

_**So Izzy tells me you're sleeping over tonight…tut tut and on a school night as well**!_

Shaking my head in disbelief I wrote a quick reply before passing it back over…

**_So what you're actually acknowledging I exist and speaking to me? Yeah she told me we need 'girl time' *rolls eyes*_**

Before I could concentrate enough to take any more notes on the topic being discussed the paper was slid back onto my desk…

**_I always acknowledged you exist…didn't I add you on Facebook? A request I might add you have yet to except. Ahh 'girl time' a.k.a Izzy shall be torturing you with that gunk she puts on her face and hair. You need saving I'll be in the room across from Iizzy's ;) _**

Laughing to myself and thinking "_Ahh the Facebook thing again"_ and I will admit shuddering slightly at the thoughts of Isabelle forcing a makeover on me I wrote back, after first attempting to catch up on the notes Mr O'Neill was currently writing up.

**_Well now I just cannot wait…wonder will she believe me if I tell her I fell down the stairs and broke my leg? Thanks for offering to be my knight in shining armour but I think I can handle myself…how bad can she be? Anyways I need to take these notes down so I'll ttyl_**

The rest of the class passed by in a blur as I tried to make sense of Jace's sudden interest in me and attempting to prepare myself for what was going to be no doubt an evening filled with Isabelle attacking me with all sorts of "gunk" as Jace had called it.

I also decided that I would tell Isabelle whatever she wanted to know about me seeing as how she had been totally open with me and invited me to stay in her house, even though she only knew me 48 hours. 

_Tonight is going to be interesting that's for sure…_

**So what do you guys think? You like it? Sorry if I rambled on a bit...this chapter had a bit more going on in it then the other 2 did though, hence why it's longer :D Anyways please review and let me know what you guys think...I'm starting to understand why other people love receiving reviews so much :) **

**xx**_  
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	4. Chapter 4

**I am totally loving all you guys who have read my story so far :D to the people who have added it to their alerts THANK YOU! and also to those who have reviewed :D Anyways this chapter is basically Chapter 3 but in Jace's point of view...it's not too long and wanted to put it up because i may not get a chance to update for a few days...I have to work and stuff this week so chapter 4 is only half ways done :( but anways... I wasn't going to write this story from other people's P.O.V because I didn't think it needed it…But after the way the last chapter ended up totally veering off from what I was originally going to write I decided maybe I needed to do chapter 3 from Jace's P.O.V so it's not all totally one sided lol. Anyways enjoy and let me know what you think :D  
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Chapter 3 Jace POV:

After a restless night of little sleep I finally managed to fall asleep when I was woken by my sister Isabelle banging on my door.

"Jace…JACE! Wake up! We're going for breakfast this morning in Taki's and I'm leaving in ten minutes so get your butt out of bed or you can walk to school!" I groaned and rolled over.

Much as I would like to have gone back asleep I knew she was serious and because my car was currently in the garage I had no other option but to get a ride with her and Alec to school. The thought of Taki's famous pancakes gave me the motivation I needed to get out of the bed and get ready for school.

Ten minutes later I was standing in the hallway waiting on Izzy and Alec to make an appearance. Isabelle strolled down the stairs in her trademark heels and designer skinny jeans and tight fitting top, while Alec came out of the kitchen wearing dark coloured jeans, like mine, and a button down shirt. It was clear the effect that Magnus, Alec's boyfriend, had on him when it came to his dress sense. Gone were the plain beige trousers and jumpers and in their place were skinny jeans and designer shirts and jumpers.

"Jace you were actually able to tear yourself away from your mirror to be ready on time." Isabelle actually seemed surprised that I was ready on time.

"Why of course dear sister. You see unlike you, this amount of perfection is achieved through very little effort on my part." Before Izzy could reply, Alec interrupted us.

"Ok enough guys. Izzy I thought you said we were meeting Clary at eight? It's almost eight now and I thought you were never late?"

This was news to me. Izzy never told me she had invited the pretty red head along…_Wait Jace Wayland did you seriously just call her pretty?_ I normally never stayed with a girl long enough to think of them as pretty or anything other then a bit of fun.  
>Nikki was exactly that, but lately she was showing tell tale signs of becoming more clingy and wanting more then I did. I was also starting to see a more nasty side of her that I wasn't sure I liked.<p>

"Jace, hello are you still with us?" Isabelle brought me back to the present and ushered Alec and me out the door and into her car.

We got to Taki's at eight on the dot. Sitting in our regular booth by the window was Magnus with a coffee already in front of him. We all sat down with him and began looking at the menu.

"Where on earth is Clary? I told her eight and she's not here. If the girl knows what's good for her she won't have ditched us…" Izzy trailed off as she dug her phone out of her purse and began dialling what I presumed was Clary's number.

"Clary where are…sorry who is this?" I looked at Isabelle who was frowning to herself while on the phone… "Ok well honey can you tell Clary to wake up and that she's late for breakfast." Isabelle waited for a minute, while whoever it was on the phone went and woke Clary…

"Ah Clary don't worry about it. Getting to talk to whoever that adorable sounding little girl is makes up for it." I wondered what and who the hell Izzy was on about while she gave Clary directions on how to get to Taki's.

"So what was all that about on the phone?" I asked Izzy not really caring too much about the answer.

"I'm not sure…Some little girl answered Clary's phone and told me she was still asleep. She's on her way now, she told me she fell asleep last night and forgot to set her alarm."

_I wonder is that the reason why she didn't accept my friend request on Facebook and not because I was admittedly a jerk to her yesterday? _Before I could think too much about this, Isabelle started waving like an idiot at something or someone she spotted out the window.

As I looked up, I saw Clary walk up to the table and sit down in the only seat that was available, which was across from me.

"Morning sleepyhead. You found Taki's ok I see." Isabelle winked at her.

Before Clary could start apologising for being late Izzy interrupted her, "Ahh don't worry about it. But who on earth was the cutie I was talking to on the phone. Even by the sounds of her voice I can tell she's a little doll."

At the mention of the little girl Izzy had been talking to on the phone, Clary's whole face lit up and she began to tell us about the little girl who turned out to be called Laurie and was her four year old sister. The whole time Clary talked about her sister she had a twinkle in her eye and I was intrigued by how much she clearly loved the little girl.

When our food arrived, Isabelle remembered that she had never properly introduced Clary and me.

"God Clary I totally forgot, this here is my adoptive brother Jace. Jace this is Clary…"

I smirked and replied simply "I know who she is Izz, she's the first person to not have accepted my friend request…ever."I Could see Clary didn't know what to say to this at first, but then she surprised me and came out with  
>"Friend request? Oh on Facebook…sorry but I wasn't really on it last night. I have more important things to be doing then spending my time on it to see who does and doesn't accept my requests right away."<p>

_Ok, so clearly this girl is a smart ass just like me. I think I'm going to like her and she isn't like every other girl at school who make themselves available and don't leave anything for boys to find out. _

After we had eaten and paid we headed towards the lot where the cars were parked. After giving Clary directions on what direction to head, we headed towards school.

We got to school with still a few minutes to spare so we headed towards the main building. Clary and Izzy were walking ahead of us and Alec was babbling on about some party Magnus was throwing this weekend because his parents were gone away. I was only half paying attention to Alec when all of a sudden Clary tripped and went flying across the tiled floor. I reflexively stepped forward to help her up but stopped myself when I saw Nikki standing there with a smirk on her face.

"You need to be more careful when you walk sweetie. I don't know how things were done in your old school, but here you need to be careful, there's all sorts of…_things_ which could trip you up."

When she had finished this she strutted over to me and laughed "Someone really should explain to the _new girl_ that she needs to be more careful where she walks…" She trailed off when she saw the look on my face.

"Babe? What's wrong? You look like you're ready to kill someone?" I quickly rearranged my features into what I hoped was a blank expression and replied "Nikki we need to talk…_now_."  
>This latest display was the last straw. Yeah Nikki was hot, but I didn't want to be with someone who was nothing but a bully. I led her by the hand into an empty classroom and turned to look at her.<p>

"Ok look Nikki this has been fun but I think it's time…" Before I could get any further into what I was going to say, Nikki exploded

"Oh no you don't Jace Wayland! No one and I mean NO ONE dumps me! I do the dumping…" This got my back up right away and I couldn't help but reply

"Well it looks like that's changed then hasn't it?" I looked her up and down and gave her my most indifferent look and went on… "Look babe it was fun while it lasted. I don't know where you thought this was going but I was only after a laugh and a bit of a good time. Try not cry too much over me…you don't want to ruin that shovelful of make up you have on your face."  
>With that I walked out of the classroom and headed towards my first class. Ok so by the end I was a bit of a jerk, but something had clicked inside me when I saw her trip Clary up and then act as if it was an accident.<p>

The rest of the morning passed by pretty much uneventful. I didn't have any classes with Nikki today so I didn't have to see her or any of her "BFF's" as she called them.

At lunch time we were all sitting round a big table each in conversation with different people. I was sat in between Alec and Magnus and was trying to explain to them the attraction Call Of Duty was to almost every teenage boy when Clary excused herself and moved to the end of the table and began dialling a number on her phone.

I tried to stay as animated as I had been a few minutes previously with Alec and Magnus, but I could see the worried set of Clary's shoulders and began to wonder what could be wrong.  
>I didn't have to wonder for too long as whoever was on the other end of the line said something to Clary that made her shout "what did you think I wasn't going to make friends and be stuck on my own for however long I last at this place?"<p>

Everyone at the table turned to watch as Clary ran from the room and watched as Izzy followed her. How she managed to run in them heels I didn't know. Everyone descended back into their conversations once more, not very interested in what had caused Clary to run from the canteen like that.

After what felt like forever, but was really only a few minutes, Clary and Izzy came back into the canteen. Izzy shot us all a warning look which we all knew meant _Don't say a word_!

I couldn't keep my eyes off Clary as I attempted to continue a conversation with Alec that I no longer had any interest in. _Maybe I should just go down there and talk to her instead of staring at her like a freak._ Before I could act on this though, from nowhere Nikki appeared in front of me. _Awh crap! Here we go…_

I braced myself for a screaming match or something. The last thing I expected her to do was to turn around and slap me _really hard _across the side of the face! Out of the corner of my eye I saw Clary flinch when Nikki's hand connected with my face. Before I could register that though, Nikki turned around and stormed out of the canteen.

Alec was the first one to break the silence which had descended not only at our table but at the tables which surrounded us.

"So another one bites the dust eh?"

As soon as I heard this I threw an elbow into his ribs and was rewarded with a punch on the arm from Magnus who I had forgotten was sitting on the other side of me. Before I could say anything in response to Alec's comment, the bell sounded for the end of lunch. _Time for history…with Clary…Ok Wayland, time to pluck up the courage to talk to this girl already._

I walked into the classrom just behind Clary, determined I was going to talk to her, when from across the room Matt waved at me clearly wanting to talk to me about something. _Damn it anyway, so much for getting to talk to Clary._

I headed over to where he was sitting. "Matt, what's up dude?"  
>I was rewarded with a smirk as he replied "So you and Nikki? You guys broke up? 'Cos if you are I was going to check that the way was clear for me to make a move man? Ya know a girl like that won't be single for long…" I gave him a shrug and replied "Whatever man, she's all yours" and turned and walked away, heading to where Clary was sitting, currently engrossed in rooting in her bag for something.<p>

I sat down beside her and waited for her to look up. When she eventually did look up and meet my gaze, I noticed Izzy had got her hands on her and had put that gunk they called "Foundation" on her flawless face. _Damn this girl is really pretty…and her eyes…_

Before I could open my mouth to talk to her, Mr O'Neill called the class to attention and Clary turned to face him. _Damn it_. I decided to pass her a note to try and have some sort of conversation with her…

**So Izzy tells me you're sleeping over tonight…tut tut and on a school night as well**_!_

I watched her out of the corner of my eye to see what her reaction would be…quicker then I was expecting she had slipped the note back across onto my desk…

**So what you're actually acknowledging I exist and speaking to me? Yeah she told me we need 'girl time' *rolls eyes***

I laughed to myself at this…clearly this girl had no idea what Izzy meant by "girl time.  
>"<em>Wait…why did she think I thought she didn't exist? God I really did come across as a total jerk to her…<em>Ok time to turn on the charm…

**I always acknowledged you exist…didn't I add you on Facebook? A request I might add you have yet to except. Ahh 'girl time' a.k.a Izzy shall be torturing you with that gunk she puts on her face and hair. You need saving I'll be in the room across from Iizzy's ;)**

She seemed to take ages to reply this time…even taking time to take down the notes Mr O'Neill had put up on the board. After what felt like an eternity though she placed the note back on my desk…

**Well now I just cannot wait…wonder will she believe me if I tell her I fell down the stairs and broke my leg? ;) Thanks for offering to be my knight in shining armour but I think I can handle myself…how bad can she be? Anyways I need to take these notes down so I shall ttyl**

I laughed to myself at this…I really liked the idea of being her knight in shining armour. I knew straight away that I would do anything to protect her from bullies like Nikki. Hell I'd even gone and dumped Nikki when I saw her push Clary around. _Tonight will definitely be an interesting one…_

**Ok so that's chapter 3 from Jace's POV...I Don't know if i'll make a habit of doing this...it's more just a filler chapter :) but please let me know what u guys think :) if u review i'll even give u a shout out :D Love reading your reviews :D I promise to update soon as i can but like i said may be a few days before i get time to :( **

**xx**_  
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	5. Chapter 5

**Ok guys i am so so sorry its been soo long since i updated :( A hell of a lot happened that meant I couldn't update :( Went back to college and that took up loads of time and then my laptop decided to crash THREE times which meant I had lost everything and had no laptop for about 8 weeks :( Anyways I got it back and all sorted :D have minimum work load for college so i shall be able to update with a few chapters fairly quickly :D Hope you guys like this chapter anyways :) Again please read&review...love getting email alerts telling me all about new reviews etc :) **

_**Disclaimer: As mentioned before unfortunately i don't own any of the Mortal Instruments characters...they still belong to the wonderful Cassandra Clare :) Although Laurie and a few random others are all mine :D **_

Chapter 5:

The last part of the day seemed to go so slow. I wasn't sure whether it was because I was excited and nervous about going over to Izzy's for the night or because of the note passing with Jace in history. By the time the last bell went I had my excuse all planned for not being able to make it over to Izzy's, but when I got to my car in the lot all plans for an excuse went out the window when I caught sight of Jace leaning against my car looking _seriously _hot. I stopped a few cars back where he couldn't see me so I could appreciate the sight in front of me…

_God Clary you're turning into one of them girls who drools over hot guys! Snap out of it! _

Shaking my head I began walking again and caught Jace's attention…

"So I bet you're wondering why I am gracing you with my presence on this lovely afternoon…well lucky for you Izzy had to make a few stops on the way home and asked me to escort you to chez lightwood…" He finished his sentence with another one of his knee weakening smiles and a wink.

"oh did she now? That's too bad because my Mom called and I…" Before I could even finish my sentence Jace butt in…

"Haha don't go trying to get out of this one…Izzy has given me strict instructions to make sure you don't come up with an excuse for not coming over tonight and even I wouldn't disobey them…So are you going to keep standing there trying to come up with a reason to not go or are you going to let me into your car so we can make a move?"

I stared at him through narrow eyes for a few seconds while I weighed up the pro's and con's of having to drive to my house and then to Izzy's with Jace. Squaring my shoulders and giving him the most indifferent look I could manage I replied "Fine lets go, I got to stop by my house first and grab my stuff. There is to be no smart remarks on my driving abilities or I will kick you out of my car. I mean it!" Jace simply shrugged his shoulders and smirked at me waiting for me to let him into my car.

The ride to my house was quiet, but not in an awkward way. I pulled into my empty drive and sighed to myself. _Mom's off out again "socializing" with the neighbours. _

Without looking at Jace I simply said "You can come in…I don't trust you to just sit here quietly while I grab my stuff…come on." Jace laughed at this and followed me up the path to my front door.

As soon as I opened the door Laurie came tearing down the hallway and straight into my arms. I scooped her up into one of my "special hugs" which was basically squeezing the life out of her and forgot all about Jace standing behind me in the doorway. "Hey baby girl, how was your day? Where's Mom?" Laurie needed no more invitation then this to begin describing her day to me in detail. She was half way through telling me what she had for breakfast when she realised Jace was still standing in the doorway and immediately turned quiet…

"Oh Laurie, this is my friend Jace, Jace this is my little sister Laurie…" I gave him an apologetic look to show I was sorry for forgetting he was there. Jace gave me a grin and turned to Laurie who was hiding behind me, shooting sneaky glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

"Ah so this is the little cutie that you have been telling us all about…When Clary told us she had a baby sister, I thought she meant a little baby, but you're such a big girl." Upon hearing this Laurie came out from behind me and puffed out her chest in a bid to look "like a big girl."

"Yes I is a big gurl, Clary keeps telling people I is small but I isn't. I go to big school now you see…Do you wants to come see my school thingies I gots to wear?" I laughed to myself as Laurie grabbed Jace's hand without waiting for a reply and dragged him up the stairs to show him her "school thingies."

I walked into the kitchen to grab my pyjamas that were on the radiator. One of our new neighbours Susie was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a magazine, clearly relishing in the few moments Laurie was distracted.

"Hey Susie, I'm just grabbing a few bits and then I'm heading out again. I didn't realise my Mom had asked you to watch Laurie today?"

"Oh hey Clary, yeah your Mom asked me would I watch her for a few hours while she went to run a few errands. I don't mind the boys are off with their dad for the day."

_What the hell is my mom playing at! This is the third day in a row she's disappeared and left Laurie with a neighbour for the day._

"Oh ok…well are you sure you're ok to stay here for another while…I did ring my Mom to tell her that I was going to a friends and Luke shouldn't be much longer…?"

"Yeah it's not a problem honest, Laurie's been good as gold today so go right ahead…"

I grabbed my stuff and left the kitchen. I decided Jace had suffered enough at the hands of my sister and it was time to go rescue him…

I found them upstairs in Laurie's playroom in the middle of what looked like a very serious tea party. Jace was sat with a bonnet on his head in between Laurie's three favourite teddies, at a table that was far too small for him. I couldn't hold in the laughter and descended into a fit of giggles. As soon as Jace realised I was there, he ripped the bonnet from his head and stood up.

"Clar…Clary are you ready to go? Izzy will think we got lost if we don't go now…"

I was too busy laughing at him still to be able to answer, but Laurie got there before me…

"Awes Jace I don't wants you to leave. We didn't get to have our tea…" Before Jace could reply I sobered up enough to prevent a full scale melt down Laurie style.

"Aw I know baby but Jace needs to get home so he can have his dinner. But I bet he'll come back and play with you soon. Why don't you go see if Susie will give you one of my special biscuits?" As soon as she heard these words all plans to continue her tea party were gone and she rambled off to find Susie.

Jace looked at me with a stony face.

"Ok Clary let's go…and do not say a word about what you've just seen!" At that I began laughing again but followed him out to the car and had to endure ten minutes of stony silence and the odd direction from Jace on how to get to his Izzy and Alex's house.

Eventually I pulled up outside what was hands down the biggest house in the neighbourhood. The garden alone looked like it would fit two of my houses in it.

"Welcome to the lightwood abode…looks like there's no one home yet. Come on I'll give you the guided tour."

I followed Jace up the path to the front door where the thought occurred to me _Me and Jace are totally alone… Clary snap out of it girl! Since when do you get all flustered at the thought of being alone with a boy?_

I shook my head and attempted to gather my thoughts as Jace opened the front door and led the way into an _enormous _hallway. It was easily bigger then the whole ground floor of my house.

"So this is the grand entrance, down through that door is the kitchen and living room. Come on I show you around upstairs." Without waiting to see if I would follow, Jace took off up the spiral staircase and disappeared. I took the stairs two at a time in an attempt to make sure I didn't lose him or worse end up lost myself.

I found Jace lounging against the wall facing the top of the stairs appearing to be engrossed in picking some fluff off his muscle hugging black t-shirt. Although he came across as seriously annoying, I could appreciate his looks and seriously defined chest as much as the next girl.

"About time you made it up the stairs, I thought you had gotten lost…" Before I even had a chance to reply he took off down the long landing pointing to doors as he went informing me which was Alec's, Izzy's and his parents bedrooms. At the end of the hallway he stopped at another door and didn't say a word.

"So who's room is this? Let me guess it's yours and you think like most the girls in the school I am simply _dying _to see what the famous Jace Wayland's room is like?"

At this he started laughing and shaking his head. I tapped my foot impatiently while I waited for him to gain back some sort of self control…

"You wish…but nope I want to show you something much more interesting and unknown now quit asking questions and follow me."

With that he turned and opened the door and began climbing even more stairs. Without giving it much thought I followed Jace's retreating figure up the stairs and into what must have been an attic conversion.

I found Jace already splayed across one of the only sofas in the room, but he didn't hold my attention for long once I had glanced around the room. The walls were decorated with various paintings and portraits and along the wall with the door through which I had just come in was the most colourful collage I had ever seen…

"Wow Jace who painted all these? They're…gorgeous." I began slowly circling the room so I could take in each piece individually. Jace didn't answer but I could feel his eyes on me as I examined the unknown artist's work…

"Well the hugely talented and if I do say so myself amazingly good looking artist would be me." I turned to face him and was about to laugh at this until I saw perhaps the first half serious look I had seen Jace wear in the short time I'd known him…

"Oh…oh well…they're um really really good. I bet the girls would go even crazier for you if they knew you could paint as well." Upon hearing this Jace shrugged his shoulders and watched me intently as I went to sit down on the sofa which he had just vacated.

"Well I don't normally show everyone this room, but seeing as how according to Izzy you're her new "BFF" I thought you could be trusted enough to know my secret." He winked at the end and came and sat down beside me on the sofa, which suddenly felt a lot smaller then it really was with him sitting so close beside me…

"So Clary what happened on the phone today before you ran out of the canteen? You seemed kind of…upset…"

_Aw crap _I had almost completely forgotten about the whole argument with Ellie on the phone today at lunch and the fact that Jace and the rest of the table had witnessed it…

"Emm…well I sort of had a fight with my best friend from home."

_Clary now's the time to decide if you're going to try and trust people here_ I thought to myself. I decided I couldn't keep pushing people away like I had done at my old school. While I tried to sort all this out in my head Jace sat waiting patiently for me to continue…

"Ok here's the thing…my best friend, Ellie, has…I dunno she's started hanging round with the two very girls who made it their sole purpose in life to make mine and Ellie's high school life as miserable as possible and now she's blaming me having to move away for her sudden friendship with them and personality transplant…" I had to stop to calm myself and attempt to stop myself crying in front of this boy I hardly knew…

"Well that sucks Clary, I'm sorry that she's turned on you so soon after you moved. But you know Izzy is a seriously good friend who'll have your back. I know that probably doesn't really make you feel much better but it's good to know."

_Wow maybe this guy is not a total jerk after all…_I turned and gave him a watery smile. Jace caught my eye and suddenly the atmosphere in the room totally changed. I became acutely aware of how close he now sat beside me and could feel the heat coming off him. Jace seemed to be aware of our closeness as much as I was. He began to lean into me cautiously almost as if he didn't realise what he was doing…

_OMG Clary what are you doing….you are seriously not going to kiss this guy you hardly know and wasn't exactly nice to you yesterday or for the most part of today…SHUT UP! _I told myself as I leaned in to close the distance between us.

Right before our lips met, the front door slammed follow by Izzy calling out to see where we were. Jace and I both jumped apart and an awkward silence descended between the two of us.

"Izzy I'm up here…" I jumped up off the sofa and went to the door leaving Jace sitting on the sofa.

_OMG Clary what the hell just happened?_ Part of me wanted to continue down the stairs to the landing to where Izzy was waiting impatiently for me, but a greater part of me wanted to lock the door and turn around and go back up the stairs to where I was sure Jace was still seated and ask him what had just almost happened.

"Clary there you are! What were you doing up there?" Izzy eyed me suspiciously as I came through the door and walked towards her. I managed to fully compose myself before I answered cheerily

"Oh Jace decided he wanted to give me the guided tour of your house. Which might I add is gorgeous."

Isabelle eyed me suspiciously and searched my face for some sign that I was lying, which thankfully she found no sign of

"Hmm ok well come on then let me show you my room and have some fun before we order pizza." I groaned internally at this, knowing full well her idea of "fun" was a bit different to mine. I followed her back down the hall and through the door Jace had pointed out as hers earlier on, praying she wouldn't start asking any questions about my being up in the attic room with Jace.

**Ok so thats one more chapter down :) Let me know what you guys think...and again to those who have been reading the other chapters so far again I am soo sorry for not updating in _months _:O Read and review xxxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok guys so because i had taken so long to update with the last chapter i decided to write this one super quick :) SO here it is...I'm going to try update as much as possible while I'm off college and have the time to do it :) Anyways hope you enjoy...and please review and tell me what you think...I really want to know if you guys love/hate it and any suggestions are always welcomed :) **

_**Disclaimer: As always i dont own the MI characters (sad face) They belong as always to the wonderful Cassandra Clare :) ...well Laurie and some others are mine :) **_

Chapter 6:

After what seemed like _forever_ Isabelle was finally finished pulling and poking at my hair and face and allowed me to look in the mirror so I could admire her "skills"

"Wow Izzy I don't look like me at all." This was the truth, she had managed to tame my naturally curly red hair into smooth bouncy curls and made my skin look even more flawless with the minimal amount of make up.

_Damn this girl is talented_ I thought to myself.

Izzy simply shrugged her shoulders "It's not that hard really when you have the right raw materials and a few products….here you can have some of these, I don't really need them anyways." She turned and began firing random bottles into a small bag she had on her dressing table

"Oh no Izzy seriously I can't take this stuff it must have cost you a bomb and I don't know the first thing about how to use any of it…"

"No Clary seriously I have the new versions of all this and my Mom is bringing me back more when she gets back from her business trip so don't worry about it" Without waiting for me to refuse she put it into my overnight bag and turned back to face me.

"Ok so now I have gotten hold of you and made you look even more gorgeous it's time to get down to the serious stuff….we need a DMC…" She trailed off once she seen the blank expression on my face.

"Emm Izzy what the hell is a DMC? And why is it important?" Isabelle looked for a moment like she wasn't sure if I was serious or not.

"Clary tell me you have had a DMC before? Like a Deep Meaningful Conversation? You know telling your close friend stuff about yourself no one else knows…"

_Ok Clary it's time to let Isabelle in and unlock that stuff you've been hiding._ I took a moment to gather myself before I answered…

"Oohh one of them…yeah I've had them before with Ellie, I just didn't know they were called DMC's…ok what do you want to know?" I deliberately phrased it so Isabelle could lead the conversation where she wanted.

"Well people call them different things but that's not the point. Hmm what do I want to know? Ok well for starters where are you originally from? And why did your Mom and your step-dad decide to move in the middle of term?"

_Ok so this isn't too bad…So far no really awkward questions…_

"Well I don't actually know where I'm originally from…Me and my mom moved around a lot when I was younger…well actually we moved around an awful lot up until she settled down with Luke and had my little sister. We never really stayed longer then a few months in any one place…the longest we stayed somewhere was when we lived in New York city before we moved here. Laurie was born there and my mom and Luke got married there. I thought it was the one place we were going to be able to settle down…" I paused to see if I had lost Isabelle to boredom yet but she seemed totally engrossed in my story.

"Ok so you don't know where you're originally from? Why hasn't your mom ever told you? And you still haven't answered my question why you had to move so much…Clary if it's something bad or you're worried you can't trust me you can honest…"

Isabelle reached out and grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. I knew in that moment that this was someone who I could trust, really trust, even more then I had trusted Ellie…

"Yeah Izzy it's not a nice story at all. I've never told anyone about it before because…well because we've never stayed in any one place long enough for me to trust someone enough to tell them. But my mom and Luke have sworn this is the final place and there's something about you that makes me trust you…So if you really want to hear it I'll tell you…"

I waited anxiously as Izzy took in what I had just said. I was waiting for her to tell me to leave and take my messed up past with me out of her perfect life, but she totally surprised me…

"Clary seriously whatever has happened to you in the past I want to know. I want you to trust me and want to be friends. I promise you I won't turn my back on you or go off and tell the whole school about whatever it is. It seems like it's weighing you down whatever it is so you never know it might help to tell someone…"

"Ok Izzy I'll tell you everything…it's kind of long though…basically the reason me and my mom moved around so much was because of my real "dad" if that's what he deserves to be called…my mom and him were on and off until I was about five when she eventually decided enough was enough and packed our bags one night and left.

He always swore if she left him and took me with her that he'd never leave us in peace and he has stayed true to his word…He always seems to be able to find us wherever we go that's why my mom always tried to stay one step ahead of him. Although after a while she decided to let him see me so I could have some sort of relationship with him…"

"That sucks Clary…but why did your mom decide to leave him in the first place? If I'm being pushy or nosey just tell me to mind my own business…"

"No no you're not being pushy don't worry…See my mom and _dad_ had a rocky relationship…when I was younger my mom tried to hide from me what he was really like. He…he used to drink a lot and would come home late at night when I'd be in bed and take his anger out on my mom…She put up with it for years because she had this crazy idea that we could still be a family and he never laid a finger on me…well until one evening when he came home before I had gone to bed...

I was so excited that he had come home early as soon as he entered the kitchen I ran to him and tried to show him some silly picture I had done in school. Well the fact that I wasn't in bed yet made him mad and he tore my picture from my hands and ripped it up into pieces and went to grab me to stop me from crying but my mom jumped in front of me and stopped him from touching me…

After that I just remember my mom telling me to go play in my room and she turned on the tv at full volume. All the commotion in the kitchen was forgotten about when I saw my favourite programme come on…"

I paused to see if Izzy was still following my story and to attempt to stop myself shaking, which I hadn't even noticed I was doing until now.

"Oh my god Clary I don't even know where to start…I'm so sorry…I know that doesn't begin to make you feel better for what happened. And as for that excuse of a man…to even attempt to hurt a five year old, God I'm mad for you…"

"It's ok Izzy I got over being mad at that a long time ago. He has made it his mission in life to make mine and my family's as miserable as possible by trying to see me even though I want nothing to do with him…"

"Ok so what happened then after your mom stopped him from hurting you? Did you guys run away or…"

"Well my mom managed to calm him down and convince him to go stay at a friends house. As soon as he was gone, she called Luke and asked him to come get us. He was a life long friend of my parents and was like a second dad to me. He came right away and took both of us to his house until my mom could figure out what to do…My dad of course came round and demanded my mom let him take me with him but she refused..

Eventually he cleared off when he saw me standing in the corner of the room crying. I think it was the only consideration he ever showed for me…Anyways we moved around a lot for the next few years until I was about ten and decided I wanted to get to know him again. But it didn't last long. One evening I went over to see him after school to find him drunk. He began verbally attacking me telling me I was a mistake and it was my fault he lost my mom. He tried to hit me but I ran away before he got the chance…since then I haven't talked to him really…"

When I had finished talking a silence descended between the two of us. It wasn't awkward but it still made me uncomfortable. I hadn't even told Ellie some of the stuff I had just revealed to Isabelle and I had no idea how she was going to react.

Again she surprised me by jumping up off her bed and gathering me up into the biggest hug ever.

"Oh Clary I'm so sorry…seriously whatever I can do to help in any way you just let me know. I have two brothers who happen to be friends with most of the football team…say the word and they can sort him out for you…"

I laughed at this relieved that she had taken it so well. Although my relief was short lived at the mention of her brother and what had happened earlier…

Mistaking my silence and awkwardness as wanting to change the subject Izzy done what I was learning she does best, taking control of a situation…

"Ok I don't know about you but I'm starving so lets go get the menu for Taki's and order take out because I am in no mood to cook." With that she jumped back up and danced towards the door and waited impatiently for me to follow…

_See that wasn't so bad. Hell Izzy took that even better then Ellie had, who was supposed to be your best friend…_

I stopped that thought of Ellie in its tracks, no point opening up that can of worms tonight as well.

I followed Izzy down the stairs and into the kitchen, which like the rest of the house was massive. As soon as I entered the kitchen I wanted to turn around and leave again. Rummaging in the fridge with just the top of his blonde hair visible behind the island was Jace.

_Ok Clary keep it cool, act like nothing happened in the attic room…because really nothing did happen! And Izzy will totally _freak_ if she finds out_…

I tried my best to remain cool and act normal waiting for Jace to lift his head out of the fridge. He straightened up and when he caught sight of me he had to look twice almost as if he didn't recognise me. He seemed to take a minute to compose himself before turning to Izzy.

"So I see you managed to get your hands on Clary and put that gunk on her face…which by the way doesn't look half bad." He turned to me and winked, clearly back in annoyingly good looking jerk mode.

"Not that hard to do when you have the right base and raw materials…anyways we're ordering take out if you want some?" Isabelle turned to her brother expectantly.

"Nah I'm good with what I have here. Catch you ladies later." With that he turned and left the kitchen…

"Don't worry he's not always like that…he does sometimes resemble a half decent human being. So anyways are you good with whatever I order…hello earth to Clary!"

I had been caught up in trying to figure out if I was mad or not about Jace acting as if nothing happened that I wasn't paying attention to Izzy or what she had said to me…

"Sorry what? Oh yeah take out I'll eat whatever…"

Izzy studied my face clearly trying to decide if I had gone mad or not.

"Hmm ok we'll order a bit of everything…"

After the incident in the kitchen Izzy and I went back up to her room where we pigged out on all the food we'd ordered and continued our "DMC" as she called it. I eventually glanced at the clock and realised how late it was.

"Oh Izzy it's ten past twelve! I think maybe we should call it a night or we'll never get up for school in the morning…"

"Hmm yeah you're right and I told Alec and Jace we'd go for breakfast again. It's kind of a daily thing."

"Ok cool well I'll just go brush my teeth and then we'll hit the sack…"

I grabbed my toothbrush and headed for the bathroom which was down the hall. For the first time since the incident in the kitchen my mind wandered to thoughts of Jace and what happened before Izzy had interrupted us.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts I didn't see that there was someone else in the bathroom until I had walked in and over to one of the two sinks. Jace was standing at the sink beside my one brushing his teeth. He had clearly just had a shower as his hair was wet and slicked back…

_Wow he's still hot even in pyjamas and sporting the whole "wet look"…_

I stared at him unconsciously until he turned around and shot me one of his annoying _Yeah I caught you staring at me _looks

"Um sorry I didn't realise there was anyone else…I should have knocked…I'll wait until you're finished…"

_Damnit Clary since when do you get all flustered around boys! _Sure I had never almost kissed one and then came across him a few hours later in my friend's bathroom but still…

"No no you're fine. I wouldn't want to have you miss out on any opportunity to continue staring at me…"

Jace smirked at me and turned back to the mirror where he began to brush his already sparkling white teeth.

This smart remark instantly got my back up and I went into defensive mode…

"So that's it then? You try to kiss me upstairs and then act as if it never happened and turn back into the _jerk _that I knew you were all along…That stunt you pulled earlier on is probably the move you pull on all your _sister's_ friends!"

By the end I was shaking and more angry then I think I had ever been at someone. Jace's eyes widened and he turned to look at me…

"What? Is that seriously what you thought? That I was just pulling some _move_ on you. And there was me thinking you were a smart girl." Jace looked genuinely hurt by what I had said. I realised this was a totally different side to him that I was witnessing.

"No but…I mean in the kitchen you hardly looked at me and then just there now you acted like your usual sarcastic self. What else am I meant to think?" I stood looking at him waiting for a reply.

"Clary, in case you have forgotten you were the one who hopped up as soon as you heard Izzy and couldn't get out of that room quick enough. What was _I _meant to think? I thought you were mad with me for trying to kiss you or that you were upset…"

He trailed off at the end and stared at the incredulous look on my face…I was bemused that _he _thought _I _was mad. Clearly there had been some crossed wires between the two of us…

_Clary say something girl! He's seriously going to think you're an idiot if you keep gawping at him like that!_

I realised I still hadn't answered him. The longer the silence went on the more unwilling I was to break it. Something seemed to pass between the two of us and we both took an unconscious step towards one another until we were standing close enough that I could feel the heat coming off him and his breath tickled my face…

"I…I had no idea that that's why you ignored me…" I trailed off as I heard his breathy laugh. Jace seemed to be having as hard a time as I was keeping his breathing normal…

Jace didn't say a word as he cupped my face with his hands and bent his face towards mine. Again my mind screamed at me to stop, that this was my friend's brother, but I completely ignored it as I went up on my tip toes to close the remaining distance between us and wrap my hands round his neck.

The kiss was gentle and soft and not at all what I was expecting…

Jace pulled away first and for the first time since I had met him, which was only two days ago, he gave me a genuine smile. This smile alone was enough to knock me back never mind the kiss we had just shared…

Jace was the first one to break the silence…

"What no running away from me this time?" He gave me another genuine smile and I couldn't help but smile back…

"No thought I'd stick around and see what I missed earlier…" Without another word I smiled at him and took my stuff and left him standing in the bathroom as I padded back down to Izzy's room.

_Well tonight has been eventful and surprising…_ I got into bed beside Izzy who had fallen asleep while I was gone and fell straight into dreams mixed with Jace, my real dad and everyone else…

**Ok so thats chapter 6 :) let me know what you guys think please :) Gonna try and update again ASAP :) Please read and review :) love getting them :D and to those who have added me to their alerts a massive thank you 3 **

**xxxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok guys i am like 1 million times sorry for not updating in so long...my laptop decided to crash AGAIN and then i lost everything and i was just super busy with college and work. Buuutt im on my summer holidays now and have LOADS of time to update :) So without further ado here's the next chapter :) Enjoy and please read and review :) would looovee to hear any ideas you guys might have :) **

"Clary…Clary come on wake up!"…I tried to swat whoever it was waking me up away and roll over. However this pushy person had other plans…

"God Clary how am I meant to make you look as good as you did last night if you won't wake up!" With a groan I opened my eyes and remembered I was in Isabelle's massive double bed. As I sat up everything from last night came rushing back. I had told this girl the basics of my past with my father and to top it all off I had kissed her _brother_ in their bathroom!

"Ok ok Izzy I'm up. Just give me five minutes to go brush my teeth and get sorted." I looked around for the jeans and sweater I had packed to wear today, but could not find them anywhere…

"Iz where's my clothes…." I trailed off when I seen the mischievous grin on her face…

"Well see Clary I was looking through your bag to see what you had brought and it was clear I needed to stage an intervention. The jeans are fine, but…here go put these on." With that she handed me my skinny jeans and some other unknown items and herded me out the door to the bathroom to change….

I came back into her room five minutes later in my jeans and a tight fitting tank top that made me look like I actually had curves, with one of her blazers across my arm. Isabelle looked me up and down before proceeding to drag me to her dresser and begin her make over…

When I was done up to Isabelle's standards we met her two brothers downstairs and went to Taki's once again for breakfast. All through breakfast I tried my best to act normal as if nothing had happened last night between Jace and I and I succeeded. The school day passed by in a blur, with no more "accidental" falling over episodes like yesterday. I couldn't help but keep checking my phone to see if Ellie had tried to text me. There was however a text from my mom telling me I needed to be home right after school to mind Laurie. _This is getting to be annoying_ I thought to myself. My mom seemed to be disappearing a lot more during the day while Luke was at work leaving Laurie with me or whoever else she could get to mind her.

As soon as the final bell rang I headed straight to my car after saying a rushed goodbye to Isabelle. It was better not to keep my mom waiting. When I pulled up to our house my mom was waiting at the front door ready to go.

"Hey baby, thanks so much for coming home right away. One of the girls from the Welcome Committee for the estate invited me to evening drinks with her and a few of her girl friends…"

I sighed inwardly and wasn't surprised that she hadn't even bothered to ask me how I had got on with Isabelle last night. "That's fine mom you go have a good time." With that I went inside to find Laurie who was splayed in front of her favourite film.

The evening crept by more slowly then I thought possible. Luke was away on a business trip so he wouldn't be home until tomorrow, so once Laurie was in bed I settled down to do some homework. I was just about to give up on a really tricky math question when my phone buzzed. Ellie's name flashed up. I grabbed my phone and taking a deep breath I answered.

"Hi Ellie" I was welcomed with silence at the end of the phone. _Great, looks like I am going to be the one to make the first move_…

"Look Ellie about yesterday…" I trailed off as I heard voices at the other end of the line. It sounded a lot like Shanice and Abbey talking to Ellie. _Damn she must not have realised she rang me_. I was just about to hang up when I heard Ellie's voice…

"God she is just so…so annoying. Like I mean yeah we were best friends but she has some serious _daddy _issues and just _loved_ to use that to have all the attention focused on her…"

I was stunned into silence… _She can't be talking about me…_ I continued to listen to see if I could figure out who Ellie was talking about.

"I'm just like _soo _glad she moved away so I can start over and have attention focused on me for a change. And you girls are like totally better friends then that Clary ever was…"

I didn't wait to hear anymore and hung up the phone before bursting into tears.

Before I could go into a full on crying spree the doorbell rang. Wiping my eyes hastily in my shirt sleeve I went to answer the door. I opened the door and almost closed it again. There standing on my front step was Jace, dressed in a pair of low slung jeans and a black leather jacket. He began to smile but upon seeing the traitor tears still in my eyes he stopped and frowned at me…

"Hey Clary what's wrong? Did something happen?"

His voice was full of worry and concern for me, which made the tears in my eyes spill over and fresh ones appear. Before I could choke back my tears and tell him to leave he scooped me up into a hug and let me cry on his shoulder right there on my front porch.

I pulled away after a minute and let him in. I went into the sitting room and sat back down on the sofa. Jace moved my school stuff and sat back down beside me and pulled me in for another hug…

"Ok Clary come on what's happened? I'm not leaving until you tell me." I sucked in a ragged breath and told him the story of how I overheard Ellie's conversation with Abbey and Shanice. As I relayed the story to him his expression seemed to be stuck on incredulous. Once I finished telling him and composed myself I waited for him to talk.

"Clary I know this girl is your best friend or whatever, but that's twice in two days she has made you cry. I don't know you that long but I know you don't deserve to be treated like that, and whatever these "daddy issues" are I'm sure you didn't use them to get attention."

I gave him a grateful smile and wiped the remainder of tears from my eyes. It then occurred to me I had no idea what Jace had come over for…

"Jace what did you come over for?" He looked surprised, almost as if I should have known why he was here.

"Well Clary I came over to see you. I never got to talk to you today after…after last night and you rushed off after school. My mom told me that she was heading out to some drinks thing to welcome a new lady to the neighbourhood and I figured that was your mom so I decided now was my chance to talk to you."

_Crap he's here to tell me that what happened last night was a mistake. I'm an idiot for thinking any different._ I decided to cut him to the chase.

"Jace look it's ok I know what happened was spur of the moment and your Isabelle's brother and I'm her friend so don't worry about me, we can just forget all about it…" I trailed off upon seeing the expression on his face…

"Clary you seriously think I came here to tell you that? If I thought that I would not have drove here to tell you, I would have told you over face book or something, after all I do have a reputation to uphold." He flashed me one of his trademark smirks before continuing.

"Clary I came here to tell you…well to tell you that ridiculous as this sounds, given that I only know you a few days, I, well I really like you and well I'm glad I kissed you last night and I would do it again. It doesn't matter that you're Isabelle's friend…"

_Wait he's telling me he likes me! The hottest guy in school LIKES me! OMG_…I stopped this musing in my head when I realised Jace was waiting for me to say something…

"I…Jace I don't know what to say. I thought you were coming here to…well I told you what I thought…I…god I'm not very good at this sort of stuff. I suppose what I'm trying to say is I like you too but…"

I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence, because Jace leaned in and kissed me. I gave a little gasp of surprise but responded quick to his lips on mine. The kiss started out as gentle, like last night, but gentle was not what I wanted. I reached my arms up and twined my hands into his hair pulling him closer to me and deepened the kiss. Jace didn't seem to mind this and proceeded to knot his hands in my hair and kiss me back with as much enthusiasm as me. After a few minutes he pulled away and flashed me one of his knee weakening smiles.

"Well that was…unexpected." I laughed breathlessly at him and waited until my breathing and racing heart had returned to normal before responding.

"Yeah you can say that again. Here I was wallowing in my sorrow and you appear and make me feel better."

He laughed at this and leaned in for another kiss. But before it could become more then a brush of lips, I heard Laurie coming down the stairs. I sprang away from Jace and went to the bottom of the stairs to see what was wrong.

"Baby what's the matter? Did you have a bad dream?" Laurie's lower lip trembled and she came the rest of the way down the stairs and I scooped her up into my arms. I carried her into the living room and sat her on the sofa between me and Jace before questioning her again…

"Laurie sweetheart did you have a bad dream?" She simply shook her head and burrowed her head into my chest. I glanced over her head to Jace, I knew my worry was written all over my face. He gave me a reassuring smile and reached out to take Laurie from me and sit her on his lap. To my complete surprise she didn't protest. Jace looked her straight in the eye and gave her a smile

"Ok big girl are you going to tell me what's the matter? Because your big sister over here is a bit worried about you and I think maybe you lost your tongue and we might need to send out a search party for it…"

This approach seemed to work and Laurie lifted her head and looked at Jace gravely before speaking…

"I wanted to sees the moon like in the story we learned today but whens I looked out my window I sawed a man standing outside and I gots scared…" This was all she said before, to my complete surprise she cuddled into Jace. I tried my best to hide my fear and suspicion as to who I thought this man was from Jace.

"Ok well I think maybe that it could have just been a shadow you seen hon outside. Tell you what while I put you back to bed Jace can go and see if there is someone there, how does that sound?" Laurie simply nodded and let me lift her off Jace's lap and put her to bed. Once she was sound asleep again, I crept back downstairs to where Jace was sitting on the sofa.

"I'm really sorry about that Jace. Sometimes she wakes up and thinks all sorts. I swear she has the most vivid imagination I've ever seen a 4 year old have." This seemed to reassure Jace and mask my underlying fear.

"No that's cool. Max, our younger brother is like that and he's nine. Anyway I think we need to talk about what happened before we were interrupted…" Jace trailed off and grew silent, clearly waiting for me to say something.

"Well I think…I don't know Jace, I know I like you and for some unbeknown reason you like me back, but what would Isabelle say? You're her brother and she's fast becoming my only _real_ friend…and you only just broke up with Nikki and I do not need any enemies"

Jace seemed to think over what I had just said for a few moments before speaking…

"Well how about we don't tell anyone for the moment? See how things go and then tell Isabelle in a little while?" We both agreed that this was the best option and giving me a goodnight kiss Jace left.

As soon as his car pulled out of my drive I shut the door and bolted it closed. I had a funny feeling that man Laurie had seen was not just a random stranger…

_How the hell did he manage to find us here? _I thought to myself. I knew I had only told one person where I was going, and that was my so called best friend Ellie. She wouldn't have told him where we had moved to? Not when she knew the _full _story and knew how bad it would be if he found us? _would she?…_

_**Ok guys please read and review tell me what you think :) But please don't be mean :) all ideas are welcome :) promise i'll update asap :) xx**  
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	8. Chapter 8

**So i'm finally back into the swing of things and pumping out these chapters while I have the time :D Loved seeing how many people added this story to their alerts...Anyways here's the next chapter Enjoy :) **

"Clary! Clary wakes up! Momma wants you to go have grown up talk." I groan and roll over onto my side away from my ridiculously energetic sister. _Why do I get the four year old sister who is full of energy ALL THE TIME _I think to myself. Before I get a chance to do anything else, I receive a whack in the head from Laurie…

"Ow! Ok ok I'm up!" I roll out of bed and throwing on my dressing gown I go in search of my mom. Following the smell of freshly made coffee I find her seated at our kitchen table eating her breakfast.

"Morning mom. What's this 'grown up talk' Laurie's on about and why does it have to be discussed at…ahh mom it's only 10am on a _Saturday!_" I cross the kitchen to the source of the smell of coffee and proceed to pour a strong black cup of my favourite drink ever.

"Clary we need to talk. Last night I got offered an amazing opportunity by one of the women on the neighbourhood committee. She heard about my art work from her husband who happens to work with Luke and she offered me a job…"

This was the last thing I was expecting my mom to come out with…

"Wow mom that's amazing congratulations…wait…why…why don't you look happy about it?" The look on my mom's face gives me that sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach…

"Well baby see…Mrs Williams wants me to travel with her to her country house and do some paintings for her to be put up in the house. She's willing to pay _a lot _of money, money which I can't afford to turn down…" She trails off and looks at me and we descend into silence. I refuse to be the one to break it waiting to hear what she will say next. After a minute or two, realising I won't say anything she continues…

"So it's going to mean spending about a month out there with her getting a feel for the place and then travelling up a few days a week to get it all done. Now don't worry I'm not moving us again, but I am taking the job so it means you're going to need to look after Laurie while I'm gone. Luke is going away to Europe on a business trip on Sunday night and won't be here so I need you. Is that ok?"

I sit staring at my mom in silence. She wants me to basically step into the "mom" role for Laurie more then I already am and be ok with it?

_I'm surprised Laurie doesn't just call me mom at this stage_ I think to myself. I look at the hopeful expression on my mom's face and sigh inwardly…

"Ok Mom but what about school? I can't be here all the time for Laurie and do that…and what about me…I've just started making friends, what if I want to see Isabelle…" _or Jace_ I think to myself.

"Well I have that all sorted. Susie said she can take Laurie during the day until dinner time and then she said she can take her one night a week. And baby it's really only for a month and then we'll re evaluate. I really want to do this Clary…Please…." I look at my mom and the expression on her face_. _

_How can I refuse her? All she's ever done is try to give me a better life, maybe it's time to repay her…_

"Ok mom that sounds good and it's only for a month what could go wrong?"

My mom jumps up and gives me the biggest hug ever telling me how much she loves me and how much this means to her.

"I need to ring Mrs Williams and go pack, we leave tomorrow…"

_Tomorrow! _I decide it better to not fill my mom in on what happened last night. _No point worrying her before she leaves_. But really I know that if she had even the slightest idea of who I thought it really was outside last night she'd pack everything up and move again, despite what she had promised me. This latest conversation had just proved that really nothing had changed.

I finish my cup of coffee before heading for the bathroom to have a hot shower. It always succeeds in soothing and relaxing me when I worry the most. I couldn't help but think about what had happened with Jace last night and where it left us. _Are we going out now? Am I seriously going to be dating someone who is supposedly the biggest player and most sought after boy in our school? _I thought to myself. I knew I needed to see him to talk about it and see exactly where we both stood _without_ getting distracted. In the middle of all my musing my phone rang and Isabelle's name flashed up

_Crap what will she say when she finds out…_ I picked up the phone and taking a deep breath I answered.

"Hey Isabelle, how are you?" Before I could get any more then this out, she burst into conversation

"So Clary it's your first Saturday here and I have a plan…We are going out tonight _no excuses_. I want you over in my house by six and bring your going out…wait no! Don't bring anything I have the _perfect_ outfit for you. Ok? Cool see ya?"

Without even waiting to hear my protests she hung up…_This girl is crazy_ I laughed to myself, but really I was relieved I had managed to make such a good friend so quick.

_She might not be your good friend when she finds out about you and her brother…_

I quickly shot this thought down and went to tell my mom I wouldn't be here tonight.

_It'll do her no harm to spend _one day_ with Laurie before she leaves_.

I wondered when exactly it was I had taken on the role of the parent. I was more of a mom to Laurie then my mom was. I knew it wasn't exactly her fault, she had had it tough after she had first had Laurie. After me she hadn't planned on ever having anymore children. I knew she loved the bones off Laurie, but I think there was a part of her that maybe resented the fact that she had a young child and couldn't do the things she wanted to do. She had always told me when I was younger and begged for a sibling that she was almost done raising her child and wanted to start enjoying life. Not long after that she found out she was pregnant. Luke was over the moon and I know my mom tried to be, but I could see her disappointment…

"Clary! I need you to do me a favour…" I cringed internally at these words. They never ended well. _Ok time to tell her that it's _me_ who needs the favour today, not her_.

I walked into her room where her voice had come from…

"Hey mom, before you say anything I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to be around this evening or tonight. Isabelle rang me and told me we're going out. It's kind of a _welcome to our group_ thing she's doing for me, so whatever it is I can't do it…" _Better to tell her like it is straight up_ I waited for her to say something…

"Oh…ok, well it was just I was going to ask you to mind your sister, but if you have plans I suppose I could spend the day with her instead."

"Yeah mom it would be good to do that and besides, Luke's home in what, an hour? You guys should spend the day together before you both go away…"

Without waiting for a reply I went back to my room to pack my over night bag. My phone lit up again and this time it was an unknown number…

"Hello?"

"Clary, hey it's Jace. Before you say anything, no I am not a stalker, Isabelle asked me to ring you…"

"Oh hey Jace, what's up?" _Ok Clary play it cool, it's not like it's a big deal…keep calm_

"So Iz asked me to ring you and say that she needs to change the time to seven 'coz she needs to go do some very important business…but well I was thinking that maybe I could come by and we could do something before seven, I mean if you want to that is…" He trailed off and waited for my reply…

"Um sure that sounds cool. I'm free all day so whenever you want to come over…" _Damnit Clary what happened to playing it cool! That sounded waayy too eager_ I mentally slapped myself for coming across like I had nothing better to do…

"Oh ok cool, well maybe I could pick you up round three. I have a surprise and then we can talk properly with no creepy guys or little sisters to interrupt…"

At the mention of the creepy guy my stomach turned…

"Yeah that sounds good I'll see you then…" I hung up and went to find something half decent to wear today.

Before I knew it, it was three o'clock. Right on cue I heard Jace's car pull up into the drive. I didn't wait for him to come to the door, but shouted a hasty goodbye to my mom as I closed the front door behind me. I slid into the front seat and flashed him a smile as I secretly admired what was in front of me. Jace was dressed in a pair of black jeans with a loose shirt and a black jacket. I was quickly learning that black seemed to be his customary colour. He seemed to notice me staring at him and smirked.

"Getting a good look at your company for the afternoon?" I blushed and looked away, but this made him laugh to himself.

"So Mr I have a surprise, what are we doing while Isabelle is off on her important business?"

"Well I thought we could go for a walk in the park, but then I realised it's raining so I thought instead we'd go back to our house and well…you'll have to wait and see…" He didn't say anything else and we descended into silence. It was a nice silence and neither of us felt the need to break it.

We pulled up at the Lightwood's house and I followed Jace in the door. He took my bag from me and dropped it by the door before taking my hand and leading me upstairs. My heart leaped when our palms connected, but I followed him up the stairs. We walked past all the bedrooms to the door at the end of the corridor, which led to the room at the top of the house where we'd had our first almost kiss. I blushed at the memory and Jace chose then to turn and look at me. He flashed me one of those brilliant smiles of his.

"Ok so I decided that a picnic outside was a no go because of the weather, so instead we're having one up here…come on…"

With that he pulled me up the stairs and into the room which was undoubtedly my favourite in the whole house. Set in the middle of the floor was a picnic blanket with plastic containers containing food. When I went to inspect them I found not the typical picnic food.

"Jace really? Crisps, dips, sweets and chips? Clearly you don't need to watch what you eat like the rest of us…" He laughed at this and sat down. I decided to bite the bullet and bring up last night…

"So about last night. Jace I know we said we'd keep it between us, but where exactly do I stand? Like what is this?…" I trailed off before I started rambling or bombarding him with questions…

"Well Clary I really like you and you said you liked me so…well clearly I didn't spend hours slaving over a hot stove for nothing…sorry what I'm trying to say is…well do you want to go out?"

I was momentarily stunned. _OMG he's just asked me out! Clary come on girl answer him already!_

"…um…well…yeah ok…but what about Isabelle? And Nikki and…and…"

Jace cut me off before I could go into a full scale freak out by leaning across and kissing me. I responded to him and it was just as good as it had been last night.

After a few minutes Jace pulled away and flashed me a smile. I took a minute to slow my breathing down and took a bite of one of the jelly babies that was in a bowl on the floor…

"Look Clary don't worry about Isabelle, she won't mind…and as for everything else, it doesn't matter…" He gave me s huge smile and had such a wistful look on his face I couldn't help but share his optimism.

_He's right _I thought to myself_…so long as Isabelle doesn't have a problem no one else should matter…_

"So anyway Clary did you get a look to see who it was your little sister thought she saw outside last night?" It seemed like such a simple question but I had to decide now whether or not to tell Jace… _He's my…_boyfriend_ or whatever we are I should trust him with this…_

"Um yeah I have a fair idea who it is and if I'm right then it's not good…" I watched Jace as he took in what I said…

"Ok Clary come on tell me who did you think it was? And why do you look so scared?"

I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and took a steadying breath before answering his question…

"I think the man outside my house last night was my father. Did Isabelle tell you what I told her about him?" I looked at him while I waited for him to answer…

"well she told me that you didn't see him anymore for some reason and that your mom left him when you were younger because he was abusive, but that's all she told me…"

"Well that's the basic details I told her, but there's more…For years after my mom left, my dad tried to see me but she wouldn't let him. Once I was old enough to decide for myself she let me. I tried once or twice to give him a chance, but each time he would do something…something to ruin it…" I swallowed hard and met Jace's gaze. He gave my hand an encouraging squeeze and waited for me to continue…

As I began to relay what had happened on my most recent attempt to connect with my dad I got caught up in a memory of the night I last saw him…

"It was my 15th birthday and I had agreed to spend the weekend with him to give him another chance. He told my mom that he was over everything and had gotten help. The weekend started out ok, it was awkward at first but once we got over the initial awkwardness it was even…nice. He bought me a new phone and had taken me out to lunch on the Saturday. When we got back to his apartment however, things started to go downhill. He told me he was going out for a few hours to see a friend but he'd be back early enough to watch the dvd we had rented out. My father didn't come home until about 11pm and I knew as soon as he walked in that he was drunk. When he came into the spare room I pretended to be asleep.

He banged the light on and stumbled across to my bed, where he proceeded to pull the covers back from me. He was rambling on about how I was just like my mother and would break his heart and I needed to be taught a lesson. Upon hearing this a wave of dread spread over me. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me from the bed against the wall. He smacked me across my face twice. I struggled to break free, but this made him see red and he told me he was going to make me pay for taking my mom away from him. I don't know what would have happened had I not managed to raise my leg up and kick out with all my might and get away from him. I ran into the street and headed straight for the nearest house with lights on. I got a hold of Luke and he rushed over to pick me up. We called the police but by the time they arrived to arrest my dad he had left and no one knew where he was…"

By the time I was done talking I was shaking uncontrollably and unshed tears glistened in my eyes. _I've just told Jace something I never even told Ellie. Brace yourself Fray for the look of disgust and running away…_ But to my utter surprise Jace put his arms around me and pulled me into his chest, where he let me cry and ruin his shirt with my tears. After a few minutes I pulled away from him and wiped the remainder of my tears away with the sleeve of my jumper…

"I'm sorry about that, it's just…I've never told anyone that part of the story, not even…not even Ellie…"

"Hey Clary don't apologise… Believe me I know what it's like to have a crappy excuse for a father…and don't worry I'm sure it wasn't him last night…and if it was…well we'll deal with it…"

He gave me a reassuring smile that made me believe I could trust him and maybe it would be ok…

"yeah you're right…come on we better clear all this away before Isabelle gets home and drags me away to _prepare_ for tonight…" With a laugh Jace agreed and once cleared away we headed back downstairs, just as Isabelle came running up the stairs. Without so much as hello to Jace she grabbed my arm and dragged me to her room. Jace mouthed _see you later_ to me and headed off downstairs as Isabelle shut the door to begin her torture of me for tonight…

**Ok so another chapter down...Would love to have you guys review and tell me what you think of it so far...and also any ideas are welcome :) Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon :) xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok so here's the next chapter :) Can I just say thank you soo much to those of you who added this story to your alerts :) really made my day to see so many...and to _YouHaveToTakeAChance_ and the 2 guests who reviewed my last chapter thank you :) I promise there will be plenty more to come :) Anyways this chapter has a little bit of a Jace P.O.V...don't know if i'll make too much of a habit of it but let me know what you think :) **

**Jace P.O.V**

As I listened to Clary tell me the whole story about the last time she had contact with her real father I became more and more furious with the man who had done this to the small, seemingly fragile girl sat in front of me. Of course in the few days I had known her I realised that Clary was anything but fragile and those who thought that of her would be in for one hell of a surprise. I Just couldn't get over that…that _look_ of terror and fear in her eyes. Sure I never had a good relationship with my father when he was alive, but when I thought of him now my memories were not tainted with fear, resentment and god knows what else Clary's seemed to be…

I went over and over the conversation I had had with her while I rummaged through my perfectly organised closet to find something to wear for tonight.

_Dude you've just gone and got yourself a girlfriend…And this time you can't mess it up…_I warned myself. I wasn't exactly a stranger to the whole relationship scene and had had _plenty_ of…I wouldn't even call them girlfriends…they were more hook ups on a night out or a fling that never lasted more then a few weeks. I had received the reputation of a player…One which I went along with, but wasn't entirely happy with.

_Maybe this time things with Clary will be different…_No_ It _had_ to be different this time! _

I knew I couldn't treat Clary the way I had treated other girls. The stuff with her dad had clearly had an effect on her and I knew she wouldn't trust in a relationship easily…

_Wayland it's up to you to show this girl how she deserves to be treated…_ I thought to myself as I threw on my favourite grey shirt and black jeans.

Once I was dressed and had my hair perfect I went to find Alec. Of course I found him in his room furiously texting on his phone, no doubt texting Magnus some mushy crap about how he thought his hair looked kewl…

"Hey Alec you almost ready to head downstairs? Isabelle told me we _have _to be ready and waiting by nine and it is now…five to nine…"

"Sure Jace I was just letting Magnus know where we were going so he could meet us there…You look like you have something to tell me…come on spill!"

Alec had been my brother for the last seven years so he knew me pretty well by now to know when I had something to tell him…

"Well…see the thing is…I asked Clary out this evening…so I guess you could sort of say we're…boyfriend and girlfriend…" I waited for his response. Alec seemed momentarily stunned and just stared at me with a blank expression on his face, clearly at a loss for words.

"You…Clary…you asked Clary out! Oohh Jace Isabelle is going to _kill_ you, you do realise that? Especially if you plan on doing to her what you done to all the other girls you dated…"

This was exactly how I knew Alec was going to react. Of course he would automatically think I was just going to use Clary to have a bit of fun and when I was bored throw her to the side…It was what I had done with all the other girls, although they knew exactly where they stood with me…

"Look Alec I know given my past…_behaviour_ it would appear that I am…well I am a jerk when it comes to girls but this time its…well it's different…I really really like Clary, and I know I've only known her a few days but there's just something…something about her that makes me want to actually have a relationship with her and be a boyfriend she'd be proud to have…"

Alec took a moment to absorb what I had just said…

"Ok Jace, I can see that you do genuinely mean what you just said…I just hope that Isabelle does as well…she really likes Clary and I know she won't want anything to stop her being friends with Clary…especially not you treating her badly…"

I knew Isabelle was going to be a sticking point…It was going to be a lot harder to convince her I wasn't just out to play Clary then it had been with Alec…

"I know that…and I swear I won't treat her badly…Speaking of Isabelle and her wraith its seven we better head downstairs…"

We both left Alec's room and went to wait in the kitchen. I decided to have a last minute snack and proceeded to rummage through the presses in search of something I could eat…I had my head stuck in a press when I heard Isabelle click into the kitchen and clear her throat loudly…

I turned around and had to look twice at the red headed girl standing next to her. Her hair was clipped up but there was still a few curls surrounding her face. Isabelle had put some sort of black stuff on Clary's eyes that made them stand out even more. The figure hugging black dress Clary wore showed off all her curves and cut off mid thigh. I could barely tear my gaze away from her as Isabelle called my name repeatedly…

"Jace…hello earth to Jace when you're finished rummaging through the presses we're ready to go…come on or we'll end up getting to the club late and be id'ed…"

"Um…yeah I'm ready let's go…" With that Isabelle turned and headed for the front door and we all followed…

_Ok Wayland keep it cool…it's not like you've never been out with a girl before in a night club…ok maybe this time the girl happens to be _Clary_ but still you can do this…_ I gave myself a mental pep talk while we rode in the taxi to the night club. All I had to do was keep cool and nothing could go wrong and tonight would be perfect…

**Clary P.O.V **

Once Isabelle got me seated in the chair in front of her vanity she turned to give me a stony look…

"Clary that's twice now you've come down from upstairs with Jace…I really hope you aren't falling for him, because let me tell you he is a _player_. He has a reputation in our school for picking up girls and dropping them just as quick when he gets bored…As much as I love my brother, I don't want him dating any of my friends…"

I simply sat in shocked silence at this…I knew it wasn't going to be as simple as kissing Jace and having all my fears and problems go away. There was only one way to deal with this…

"Look Isabelle…I…I really like Jace…there's just something about him that I'm drawn to. And I know this sounds crazy, but I really don't think that this _player_ reputation he's gotten is totally fair or is an apt description of the _real _Jace…"

I paused to gauge Isabelle's reaction to what I had just said…She seemed to be listening to what I had to say and waved her hand at me in a motion which indicated she wanted me to continue…

"My mom always told me I was a good judge of character…and I dunno but I just feel like the Jace we see in school isn't the real one…And the time I've spent with him alone I saw a different side to him…Trust me Iz I wouldn't get into anything with him if I wasn't 100% positive about it…"

Isabelle seemed to think over what I had just said for a few moments before speaking…

"Ok Clary, I suppose I can't stop you seeing him if you really want to…But please know that I'm only looking out for you…From knowing you so far it's quite clear that you need someone to look out for you for a change…But I swear if he hurts you I will kill him! Regardless of whether he is my brother or not…"

"I know Iz and I really appreciate that I do…now come on are you going to begin your regime of torture or not?"

Isabelle laughed at this and proceeded to spread the contents of her make up bag onto the counter of her vanity. I simply closed my eyes and allowed her to work her magic, knowing it was useless to even think about protesting.

At exactly nine pm having convinced me to wear a figure hugging black strapless dress that was short, even on me and a pair of ridiculously high black strappy platform heels we were ready to go. I followed Isabelle down to the kitchen where her two brothers were waiting. The mere thought of seeing Jace again gave me butterflies. When we entered the kitchen we found Alec sitting on top of the island on his phone and Jace with his back to us searching for something in the presses. Isabelle cleared her throat and both looked up.

Alec gave us both a smile and hopped down from the island and grabbed his jacket. Jace however seemed to be unable to look away from me. His gaze took in every bit of me and, not for the first time this evening, I wished Isabelle had given me a jacket or a dress that covered more of me…I shivered at the intensity of his gaze. Something passed between us and I had to resist the sudden urge to close the distance between us and kiss Jace…

_Come on Clary snap out of it! It's not like you've never had wanting glances from boys before…Sure the boys back home were sweet, but they weren't _Jace_…_

I took a deep breath and came back to my senses when Isabelle cleared her throat and demanded we leave now before it got any later…Isabelle and I were still not eighteen yet so might have trouble getting into some club she wanted to try out, which was why she claimed she was in such a hurry…I followed the group out the door and into the waiting taxi.

I was marginally disappointed when Jace had to sit in the front seat as Isabelle had sneakily slid into the back seat beside me before Jace had a chance to move…The ride to the club was filled with meaningless chatter on the part of Isabelle about some guy called Simon who she may or may not be seeing.

I only half listened as I dealt with my nerves and excitement at the idea of going out to a proper night club and also being out with Jace…I still hadn't got my head around the fact that I suppose he was my _boyfriend _now…I had a good feeling about tonight…

**Ok so this one is much shorter...more of a filler chapter...what do you think about the Jace P.O.V? Like i said above don't know if i'll do this too often but thought it was nice to throw it in :) Let me know what you want and I shall do my best ;) As always read and review :) Until next time xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok Guys so while I'm on a role I decided to keep updating as soon as each chapter is done and proof read :) Loving all the feed back and reviews :) Please keep it up and let me know what you think :)**

**Clary P.O.V**

It turned out that we had no trouble getting into the club, like Isabelle said. The group in front of us had been turned away and I began to worry I'd get us all sent packing. I only barely looked seventeen as it was. But Jace, seemed to know what I was thinking and gave me one of his trademark grins and draped his arm round my shoulder. I raised my eyebrows at him, but he just winked at me.

As we moved up in line I seen Alec do the same thing to Isabelle and all four of us got in no questions asked. _Ah the key is to walk up and look like you own the place…That's where me and Ellie had been going wrong…_ At the thought of Ellie and the current state of our friendship I could feel my good mood start to slip away…

_Come on Clary snap out of it! You're out with your friends and you have without a doubt the hottest guy in the place with his arm around you, chill out…_

Isabelle and Alec both disappeared which left me on my own with Jace. Sensing I wasn't fully paying attention, Jace grabbed my hand and led me to one of the booths that lined the wall to sit down. I gave him a timid smile, acutely aware that unless people really looked properly, they'd never see who was sitting over here.

"Clary I never got a chance to tell you how amazing you looked…Isabelle done a good job, not that she needed to do anything with you in the first place…"

I gave him a bigger grin then before, but said nothing…

"So did you…um…did you tell her about me and you? I'm sure she told you all sorts, but Clary I swear I don't want to hurt you…" He trailed off and looked at me expectantly…

_Ok there's no going back now…Time to just take the risk and see where this goes…I can't always be afraid of getting hurt…_I took a deep breath before I answered him…

"Yeah Jace I did. And although she warned me that you may break my heart, I decided…well I decided I'm going to take a chance anyway…"

I smiled up at him and was rewarded with the most breathtaking smile I had ever seen anyone give me.

Jace leaned across and kissed me. At first I was aware of the fact that we were in a very public place, but after a few seconds that thought left my head as I twined my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. There was nothing better, I was quickly realising then kissing Jace…

After a few minutes Jace pulled away and grinned at me…

"I'll um…I'll go get us some drinks…" His voice seemed deeper and he seemed to be having almost as hard a time slowing his breathing as I was…He turned and headed for the bar.

I sat back and took a proper look around the club for the first time. In the centre was the dance floor full of bodies dancing in time to the pumping music. Around the dance floor was booths like the one I was sat in and three bars, both with massive queues of people waiting to order their drinks. I looked for Jace's blonde head in the sea of bodies, but couldn't see him. My searching for Jace meant that I didn't see the scantly clad girl heading straight for me until she stood right in front of me. I recognised her straight away

_Aww crap what does Nikki want? _I thought to myself praying she had not just seen me and Jace sat here in the booth moments before. One look at her face though told me she had…

"Who the HELL do you think you are? Swaning into _my_ school and taking _my_ boyfriend from me? Acting all innocent to gain his attention? Let me tell you something girl, Jace only goes for _real women_ not little girls who try too hard to look older…"

At first I simply stared at her before I regained control of my mouth…

"Excuse me? _I _took your _boyfriend?_ That's not what I've heard people call you and Jace round school? Everyone just told me you were a bit of skirt for him to have fun with…Looks like he got bored with that and wants a something _real…_"

I was almost as surprised as Nikki at what I had just said. She was momentarily stunned, but she quickly snapped out of it and took a step closer to me and leaned down until she was right in my face…

"What did you say? Did you actually just call me a slut?"

"Well…yeah I did…sorry…" Although I wasn't a bit sorry…

Before I could say anything more, her hand flashed up and connected with the side of my cheek. I barely had time to register that before Jace appeared with a look on his face that meant he had clearly seen our exchange…

"What the hell Nikki! Who the hell do you think you are coming over here and _hitting_ Clary!"

Before he could say anymore a bouncer came over to see what all the fuss was about…Jace told him what had just happened and the bouncer took Nikki by the arm and kicked her out. Before she turned to leave she leaned around the bouncer and giving both Jace and I a sinister look smiled sweetly and said

"You two better watch your backs…_No one_ gets the better of me, or calls me a slut and gets away with it…"

_Way to go Clary! You've just made an enemy of the queen bitch of the school…_I groaned and put my hand up to my cheek which was stinging from where Nikki had slapped me.

Jace sat back beside me and glanced at me worriedly…

"Are you ok Clary? I didn't even think she'd be here, let alone see us over here…"

"Yeah I'm fine I just…I need a drink…is this one mine?" I reached out and took the glass that looked like it contained 7up. However after one mouthful I realised it in fact was not just 7up but contained what was more then likely vodka or something similar…

"Jace Wayland are you trying to get me _drunk_…" I teased him, quickly regaining the good mood I had been in before Nikki appeared…

Jace pretended to look horrified "Why Ms Fray why would you ever think such a thing?" I saw a cheeky glint in his eye and laughed out loud as I sipped my drink

After a few more drinks I began to feel the inhibition lowering effect of the alcohol. Isabelle had come over to sit beside us with Simon, one of the boys from our group in school. One of my favourite songs came on and I grabbed Isabelle's hand and dragged her to the dance floor to dance.

"Woah Clary how much have you had to drink?" She had to shout in my ear over the music for me to hear her…

"Haha only like three drinks. I don't know what they were, but oh my god I _love_ this song!"

Isabelle just laughed at me and began throwing some serious moves which caused people to give us both a wide berth for fear of getting in our way. We spent what felt like forever dancing, shouting "Oh this is my favourite song!" as every song came on…

After a few minutes the DJ decided to do a slow set. Simon came over and took Isabelle by the hand, and I was about to go and sit back down when Jace appeared and took me in his arms…

"You look like you're having a good time tonight." Jace didn't have to shout as loud as Isabelle had as the music wasn't quite as loud anymore.

"I'm having the _best_ time ever, but it's just got even better…" I smiled up at him as we swayed to the music.

"Oh yeah and why would that be? Would it be because you are currently dancing with the hottest guy in the club?" Jace gave me a smirk as he finished the sentence…

"Hot guy? Where?" I laughed as Jace gave me a mock offended look and leaned down to kiss me gently. I stretched up on my tip toes to kiss him back. I gave up my attempt to sway to the music and turned my attention to kissing Jace. After a few minutes Isabelle came over and cleared her throat. I chose to pretend I hadn't heard her and continued kissing Jace.

"Clary, Jace! Hello have you guys ever heard of the term _get a room?_ Besides it's two-thirty and everyone else has left and if you don't come on _right now_ I'm leaving without you!"

With a sigh Jace pulled away from me and went to wait outside while I went with Isabelle to get her jacket. Isabelle stood in the queue in stony silence.

"Aww Iz come on I'm sooo sorry. Please say you'll forgive me?"

I giggled and hiccupped slightly at the end of the sentence. The few drinks I had, had gone straight to my head…

Isabelle tried to stay mad at me but failed and by the time she had gotten her jacket we were walking arm in arm out of the club in the middle of a fit of giggles. However whatever we had just been laughing at was quickly forgotten when we seen the commotion outside…There were tonnes of people gathered in a circle all watching something in the centre. As Isabelle and I pushed our way through I caught sight of a glint of golden hair…

"Oh my god Iz that's Jace!" I screamed and pushed my way through the crowd to the front. There in the centre of the crowd was Jace trying his best to fight off some guy who was just as well built as him. I saw red and ran into the middle of the fight. Ignoring the protests from people around me…

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" I screamed as I attempted to break them up. However the stranger trying to beat Jace up didn't even look at me as he went to pull his fist back and hit Jace again. Without thinking I jumped in between him and Jace and received the blunt of the blow meant for Jace and fell to the ground…Everyone including Jace and this stranger froze as dazed I lifted my hand to my face to see if there was any blood. Jace was the first to recover and threw himself down beside me with a look of pure horror on his face…

"Jesus Clary…Are you ok? Let me have a look…"

He tenderly reached out to touch my face and examine the damage. Behind him the stranger who had just hit me laughed before bending down to both of us and sneering before saying

"That's just a taster of what you'll get Jace Wayland if I hear one word about you messing my sister around again. And as for your little _girlfriend_ here, be grateful it was an accidental hit…next time you might not be so lucky sweetheart." With that he turned on his heel and stalked away…

Jace helped me up off the ground and by the time I looked up Isabelle and Alec were standing by a taxi door waiting for us to get in. The taxi ride home was a silent one. Jace insisted on sliding in beside me meaning Isabelle had to sit in the front. I laid my head on his shoulder and sank into him as his arms came around me…When we got back to the house, Jace led me straight to the kitchen so he could examine my face…

"Well it doesn't look _too_ bad now. But I think we need to put an ice pack on it and hopefully you shouldn't end up with a black eye." I could tell beneath his calm exterior, Jace was furious and would not meet my gaze as I spoke to him…

"Jace I'm ok…hey look at me! I am fine. It wasn't even that hard of a blow. The only reason I fell was because I had heels on and had had a bit to drink…"

I tried to convince him I was ok, but one look at his face showed me that nothing I said would make him feel less guilty. I didn't even have the energy to ask him how the fight had started, but I had a fairly good idea about who it was over…

Isabelle came into the kitchen to get a glass of water and to make sure I was ok. I told her I was fine and would be up to bed in a few minutes. Once she left the room and Jace's back was turned I leaned heavily against the kitchen counter, suddenly dizzy. I thought I hid it from Jace but he rushed around to my side…

"Clary are you ok? Come on let's go into the living room and sit down for a few minutes and you can take two painkillers and drink this water…"

Without waiting for my reply he led me into their massive living room and to one of the corner sofas. I happily sank down and rested my head on Jace's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. The last thing I remembered as I fell asleep was Jace pulling the blanket off the back of the sofa and placing it over me as he settled down for the night with me lying across his chest…

**Anndd another chapter down :) So what did you guys think? gave you that little twist and beginning of a complication some of you where after ;) But what a sweet way to end the chapter :) Anyways until next time :) As always, Read and review :D xx**


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